Of Ballet and Bullets
by Serenanna
Summary: Part 4 of an ongoing series. All it took was one shot to put alot of things into perspective. No pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . . EdxWinry, RoyxRiza, Lemon.
1. I Love Trouble

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 1 – I Love Trouble

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, A Betting Crowd, and Overhaul 2, (in that order) which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

"Damn it! Get back here!" Edward yelled as the guy he was pursuing ran down the corridor of the basement level of the warehouse ahead of him. Of course he didn't listen. No one ever listened during a raid, least of all the suspects. His ears were still ringing from the firefight in the room behind them, which made it hard to concentrate on the pursuit down the dark hallway. Why that bastard Mustang insisted the whole department show up for this was beyond him. He was supposed to be investigating the Philosopher's Stone, not chasing after some would-be smugglers. The guy rounded the corner, and Ed knew he couldn't keep up the chase for long as his automail leg clunked along. If he broke it again, Winry would kill him. Well, tie him up, torture him a little, and then give him death in a pleasurable package before knocking him senseless with a wrench. Getting hit over the head with another of her tools sounded appealing. That was too distracting to think about. He could almost feel the oil in his automail leg burning as much as his muscles in the other, "Damn it!"

"Tough break, short fry!"

A scowl sprung up on the alchemist's face. That was it. No more nice Ed.

The path twisted to another dark corridor with a split intersection further ahead, the guy outrunning him by, well, a lot. Yelling, he clapped his hands with a spark of growing blue light, and skidded to a halt. He touched the stone floor, the light building along with a rumble. A chunk of earth rose up before the suspect, forming an instant dead end. The punk was too close and going too fast to stop, colliding into the sheer surface with a smack before falling flat on his back. Moving slowly, and grinning impishly despite his panting, Ed walked up to the guy, brandishing the metal cuffs Hawkeye had given him when the operation started. The poor guy was too preoccupied groaning and cradling his bloody nose to notice till the metal was slapped onto his wrists. He only groaned louder. "What was I suppose to say? Oh, right!" Ed said cheerfully even if he was still catching his breath, "You're under arrest."

* * *

It was snowing in the dark of night, and it wasn't even mid winter yet as they stood outside the warehouse. Why did criminals always pick warehouses in the industrial side of towns for hideouts? It only made it more obvious. And why couldn't they have picked a different month or time of day for this? It was too cold and precipitating to boot, which made Roy as useful as doilies on an eight-hundred pound gorilla. There was a small army of blue uniforms milling around, all of them under Colonel Mustang's command as he stood by one of the military police wagons with a grim look on his face.

It wasn't just the weather that was getting to him. This night was far from a success. They weren't supposed to kill all the suspects in this raid, just the ones that resisted. But damned near all of them resisted, except for the one currently being dragged out by the grumbling FullMetal. For some reason, that alone almost brought a grin to Roy's face, despite the failure of this mission. If Ed was angry over something, it made him easier to deal with, despite what everyone else thought. Why else would he pick on him, except for maybe sheer sadistic glee? Well, that too, but the reason was that the runt was always too busy being pissed when being picked on to question his orders. Not to mention the kid was hilarious when he was set off. Sometimes Roy wondered if he called the brat short just to watch him throw a shit fit.

And his favorite verbal practice target was bringing along their prize of the night, the bright side in all this, a suspect. They had one suspect, alive. That could work out well. His eyes drifted over to Riza as she trailed behind the teenager, her usual weaponry exchanged for the rifle she had slung over her shoulder. That sight made his almost grin turn into a warm smile, proud of seeing his warrior woman in action. His. There was a deliciously possessive thrill whenever that word and Hawkeye's name came through his thoughts that sent a rush of blood to his head. She was his, and watching her handle the rifle made him damned proud of it. Hell. He was proud of all of them for coming out of it unscathed.

At least, he was proud till he heard Edward yelling at the suspect, "Who are you calling so short that you need a magnifying glass?!"

He was almost sure a metal fist was about to fly till Al ran up through the crowd to his brother, pulling him away, "Now, now, brother, you're just hearing things again."

Hawkeye tugged the suspect by the cuffs instead, her expression neutral as the guy called back to Ed, "Yeah, shorty, you're just hearing things!"

Al's grip on his brother tightened as Edward flew off the ground in rage, and Mustang groaned. Maybe he was wrong to let them tag along and be useful after all. Perhaps taking in the kids in general wasn't such a good idea either, looking back on it now. They were useful at times, but also a handful when no one was around to baby-sit them. He certainly wasn't cut out to be a damned babysitter. Then again, there weren't a lot of things he was cut out to be, most noticeably an un-jealous lover. The suspect was openly leering as Riza while she pulled him closer, not seeming to notice the stare at all. Roy noticed alright, and his fingers twitched to roast the punk. But that was a bit much for being in public, and it was snowing. He really hated snow. At least he could live with it, maybe, till the poor bastard spoke, "Hey, sweetie, why did they let a fine piece of ass like you in the military? To boost morale? Maybe you can polish my gun?"

His fingers twitched again. Snow or no snow, he was itching to make roasted asshole, but Hawkeye stopped walking before they were in range. Her mouth quirked into a disgusted sneer before slowly dissolving into a wicked grin, one she usually reserved for him. Then she actually leaned in towards the guy. What the hell was she doing? Before he could wonder, her knee connected swift and hard with the man's crotch, and a collective moan of pain went up from every male presence, including himself and the Elrics, who had stopped mid-quarrel. That was his girl . . . as long as she didn't do that to him. Despite how he was doubled over and clutching his balls, Riza hauled the would-be smuggler in front of Roy and moved behind him, Ed and Al trailing along. Havoc and Breda grabbed onto the guy before he could run, while Fuery hovered behind them, probably to help shove the guy into the wagon. Yet, there was a plan brewing behind Roy's dark eyes for this piece of work. Naw, after all this hassle to catch one guy, he didn't feel like being generous enough to hand a suspect over to Maes and Investigations quite yet.

"You're supposed to be formally interrogated later, but if you have a statement now . . ." Mustang started, his frown deepening. He probably would have continued if the brown-haired punk hadn't started chuckling. Roy's eyebrows arched upwards, not surprised at all but playing along anyway. Another bad habit of criminals, if they weren't angry at being caught, they turned into first class assholes when questioned. "I got a statement for you, alright," the guy muttered, "Why don't you ask the pretty to suck it out of me! Fucking military cocksuckers!"

Roy was seeing red again as a deep whistle went up from the men assembled around them, anticipating violence for that comment about the lady in their midst. He even heard Edward snicker. Now that took guts to say for someone slapped with handcuffs, he had to give him that. Riza stepped forward, cold fury in her brown eyes that hardened into contempt. "Sir, maybe it's time we just turned him over, he isn't worth it," the Lieutenant muttered with a roll of her eyes, "And if we don't, I'm going to fill him with so much lead he'll bleed silver, whether he's worth it or not."

He was about to answer her request when the guy was leering at her again, despite struggling in the grip of the two men, "What's the matter? Ain't I man enough for you? It looks like your superior ain't doing too good a job."

"You'll be half a man in one sec-," Riza started towards him before Roy pulled her back till she shrugged out of his hold. He was starting to see the wisdom in throwing this one back, as he had a hard time restraining himself from decking the ass. Why couldn't they have gotten a more cooperative coward for a suspect? Damn, and he just wanted one answer out of him too. He glowered, dark eyes drilling to the punk. "I just want to know one thing before I let these good men teach you a lesson in how to talk to a lady," Roy said as he eyed Havoc who nodded, catching his meaning, "Despite this shoddy operation on your gang's part, you got a hold of some very powerful weapons. Those cannons you were sending had transmutation circles on them, so an alchemist had to have scribed them on there. Who was your supplier?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you, asshole? I ain't telling you shit, so put me in the fucking wagon!"

The Colonel's frown deepened, "I'm giving you a chance before the information is forced from you."

Breda's grip on the struggling suspect tightened, growling slightly to intimidate the guy, but it seemed to have to opposite effect, as he was quite literally hoping mad, "Go to hell! You, the pretty, and the fucking shrimp who broke my damned nose!"

"Oh shit," Roy muttered as there was a clap followed by small flash of blue-white light. Edward broke through the crowd with Al grabbing him by the shoulders at the last minute. "Say that again to my face!" the teenager yelled, again trying to take flight despite his brother's hold.

He watched as the transmuted metal blade pointed dangerously in the air, annoyed by his carelessness, "Watch it, FullMetal, we need this one alive remember."

"But he can't talk about girls like that! Or me! Come on! Lemme at him!" Ed growled, bristling with anger.

"Brother, I don't think you're helping the Colonel by being like this . . ." Al said with enough concern that the older Elric stopped fighting in his grip, down to simmering anger instead of a full-boil. Roy had been trying to keep his anger in check too. He didn't need to be reminded of the insults slung at him or, more grievously, Riza. No, indeed, Edward wasn't helping. But the look on the suspect's face at the young alchemist outburst, especially at the blade he wore, made him start to think. If he could work the little guy up enough, the punk would spill his guts as soon as he unleashed Ed. It was the best shot he had, but he needed an approach. "Your brother's right, FullMetal, maybe you both should go home . . ." He said, trying not to look too smug as he said it.

"What?! After I had to run down this prick!? I'm not going back for the night! Not till I get a piece of him!" Ed yelled as he went flying again towards Mustang this time, still held down by Al.

"Brother . . ."

"Lemme go, Al!"

"That's enough, Edward, the Colonel said maybe you should go, he hasn't-," Riza tried to interpose before the suspect broke in again, laughing loudly. Ed wheeled towards him, practically crawling on top of his brother, "Shut up! I'll get to you after dealing with Colonel Bastard!"

The suspect stopped laugh as the blade waved in his face. The chuckles from the men and Roy himself at the outburst nearly drowned out Hawkeye's shout of, "Edward!"

"Oh come on! He always does this! Friggen glory hound!"

"Ok, FullMetal, you can stick around, if you can make him talk . . ." Roy said as the young alchemist stopped, staring at him in disbelief. Alphonse slowly put him down, and backed off into the crowd, as his brother was no longer in a berserker rage. A growing evil grin crept onto the teenager's face, one that was starting to match the look on Mustang's. He turned towards the guy as the rest of the crowd fell silent, including Riza, who stared at her superior with apprehension in her brown eyes. Roy was scheming again, this time using Edward. It was too obvious in his grin, and she started to worry because of it. The kid on the other hand didn't seem to mind that his anger was being used, "Oh, I think I can handle that . . ."

The suspect yelped, jumping out with a kick as Ed started forward. The short alchemist ducked slightly to avoid the foot, putting his head down. But just as he moved, a bang whirled through the air, followed by the distinct sound of torn flesh, and a spray of blood that caught Ed across the face. Their suspect was dead, shot through the chest. Havoc and Breda dropped the body at once, each with a horrified shout. "Everyone take cover!" Mustang yelled as pandemonium broke out.

There was a rush to duck behind the various vehicles, and the clicking of safeties on guns as another round of fire hit the ground and vehicles. Roy didn't wait for Riza to move on her own, dragging her down with him behind one of the cars. Similarly, Havoc sat between the two brothers, looking rather nervous as Alphonse's metal head stuck up over the top of their car. Fuery and Breda were behind the large wagon, shrugging at Roy as the bullets whizzed by the open doors. They were pinned all down. Hawkeye glared at him as he continued to keep his arms wrapped over her, "Sir, this isn't the time for this . . ."

Roy glared back at her, incredulous that she would think that of him in the middle of gunshots. And yet as there was another round of fire overhead, she actually yelped and started pulling him closer to her and the middle of the car. Roy didn't argue, and didn't even pout when she shoved him against the car door. She freed the rifle from her shoulder and crouched near the hood of the car after slipping a scope onto the gun. "There's two snipers up there, warehouse 23, the one on the right slightly. It's so dark, there could be more, actually there probably are more up there," Riza said hesitantly, looking at him for an order.

"Can you hit them?"

"No, my rifle isn't powerful enough, they must be using custom guns for this distance," she said before ducking down again as a hail of bullets rained down on the car's hood. Glass from the windshield shattered over them, and he pulled her back towards him on instinct, shielding her from the shards.

Damn, he couldn't freeze now, not with everyone depending on him.

"Boys! Think you can hit them that far away?!" Roy yelled over the noise, turning towards Edward and Al. The pair looked at him like he had three heads, despite the pleading in his eyes. "Are you nuts?! Hit them with what?! They're almost-!" Ed started before an idea struck him, "Al! Chalk!"

His brother fumbled within the inner pocket of his loincloth, pulling out a small white stick only to have it ripped from his gauntlets. There was furious scribbling on the pavement between the two of them as a circle was drawn. The two Elrics placed their hands on the circle, the lines turning blue-white as a loud rumbling grew over the sound of gunfire. Roy stuck his head up to watch as the ground jutted up in a line towards the warehouse, mounting in speed and height. A large pillar of earth ripped upwards through the building with a loud screech of metal. The gunfire stopped. Edward popped up from behind the car with a shout of triumph while everyone else started to hesitantly emerge. Roy turned towards Jean, frowning, "Get the kids out of here, enough excitement for one night."

"Sir!"

"What?! Already!? We just saved your necks!" Ed shouted in Mustang's face as his victory was cut short.

"That's an order, FullMetal! I don't have time for this right now!" the Colonel shouted back, then turned towards Riza and the others, "All unnecessary personnel are to clear out right now! Hawkeye, Heymans, take one infiltration team each and head in there now!"

"But-!" Ed started to protest as Al grabbed his shoulder.

"Brother . . ."

"Damnit! This night can't get any worse!"

But as the ground rumbled under them again, it did. Roy was the first to feel it, a shift of heat in the air he'd felt before, and it was coming from behind them, "Everyone down now!"

There were shouts and the sounds of people ducking for cover again. He pulled Riza down with him again, practically throwing himself on her as a loud boom ripped through the night. From her view over Mustang's shoulder, she saw a flash of red and orange light so bright it made her close her eyes tightly. The heat and force of the explosion washed over them, causing a few of the men to shout when the booms continued in smaller blasts. Slowly it stopped, replaced with the crackling sound of fire as a few people dared to look. The warehouse they had raided just minutes ago was now a pile of burning rubble. "Was anyone in there . . .?" Roy asked softly in stunned disbelief as Hawkeye still clung to him, the same stunned expression on her face.

"N-no, sir, FullMetal and I were the last out . . ."

"Good . . . Havoc?"

"Sir?"

"The kids?"

"Sir!" Jean shouted back as he grabbed Edward by the back of his red coat, hauling him towards the car they had previously been using for cover. He didn't fight as his golden eyes were wide with shock at the scene. Numb, he got into the car with Al right behind him. He was still watching the fire in the building as they drove away, muttering to no one but himself, "We were just in there . . ."

* * *

It was the middle of the night when they arrived at the military dormitories. Edward's stunned shock had been whittled down to an angry grumble as he walked down the hallway to their room with Al right behind him. They'd been quiet the whole ride back, Havoc included, as he was already on his third cigarette before leaving them. "I don't understand what the hell happened . . ." Ed said, his grumbling coming out in coherent words as he unlocked their door and walked it, "Smugglers, cannons, snipers, and bombs?"

"I don't know, brother, but . . . it was kind of scary, more so than our usual trouble."

"Yeah . . . guess we were kind of lucky, huh?" he asked as he started to move around the room before sitting down on one of the beds as he suddenly felt tired, "We could have been in there."

Al nodded, and sat down on his own bed, "I wonder what they were after . . ."

"They were probably trying to kill us, again," Ed muttered as he pulled off his boots, "When is someone not trying to kill us?"

He chucked the shoe across the room and flopped back, staring up at the dark ceiling. If it wasn't homunculus after them, it was other crazy alchemists who were also looking for the Stone too. But if it wasn't any of the groups after the Elric brothers, then he had no clue what so ever. Anyone could have wanted them dead, as the enemies they made surely outnumbered their friends. "Maybe whoever it was is just targeting the military," Al said softly as his brother snorted in laughter.

Maybe that was why Pinako didn't like it when they were recruited by Mustang. Ed frowned, the thought of the old Rockbell woman bringing up thoughts of her ward, his friend and lover. Winry. This was yet another thing he couldn't tell her about, as it would be bound to make her worry. And then he'd worry about her worrying about him. If he wanted to get any sleep tonight, she was the last thing he should have thought of. He groaned and kicked off his other boot, maybe a little too hard as he winced when it hit metal, "Sorry Al . . ."

"It's ok. Do you think everyone will be ok? We did kind of leave in a hurry . . ."

"Colonel Bastard is leading them, I'd be more concerned with them wrecking another warehouse than someone getting hurt," he said with a smirk, "Remind me again how much property damage has been done this month alone?"

* * *

There was another crash from behind the office door, followed by the continued shouting of the Colonel. It had been like that since he came in this morning late, very late, later than the rest of them, who were already terribly late. The shouting had started as soon as Hawkeye went in to see him, bearing a thick stack of reports and two incredibly strong cups of coffee. Havoc was on his fifth cigarette this morning, and frowning. He was worried. The same expressions were on Kain's and Heymans' faces. They all were worried. No one had gotten hurt last night, but their only lead over the alchemy-enhanced cannons was dead, their evidence was destroyed, two warehouses were wrecked, and they didn't know who had shot at them or why. Ishbal rebels again? Maybe one's from Lior?

None of them knew. The only thing that was certain was that this was bad, worse than their usual tight spot. Havoc looked over at Breda, who was glancing bleary-eyed at the paperwork in front of him and nursing his own cup of strong coffee. Whenever something went wrong, or they'd all been forced to lose sleep the night before, Riza always made the first pot of the day strong enough to strip paint. And today at least, he was grateful. There was another angry outburst from the office door, followed by the sound of something hitting wood then quiet. It was the kind of quiet that always fell over the office when the two of them were alone. He snorted in laughter, "They've been in there almost an hour, think they're fucking or fighting today?"

Fuery and Breda looked at each other, "Both."

Jean's frown deepened when there was another thump on wood from the Colonel's office, "You're probably right."

* * *

Riza bit her lip to keep from crying out but as soon as Roy kissed her, she screamed while the sound was silenced in his mouth. Why did they keep ending up like this after she told him no more sex in the office? She shouldn't have let their argument over the previous night get out of hand like this. Well, it wasn't really an argument, more like venting, as the Colonel had done all of the shouting and all the trashing of his office. But she shouldn't have let him kiss her when he'd stopped long enough to realize how dangerous last night was. Ever since they got together, it always seemed to end up like this when he kissed her after a failed operation. The kissing always led to more, and that more made Mustang calmer afterwards. They both had their ways of dealing with trouble, and she was growing to love and hate his way. Her way only involved guns, and his way always involved her. At least his desperation didn't make him any less of a considerate lover.

She was on her back on his desk, a position she'd learned in the few months they'd been together that he loved. Why didn't it surprise her that he fantasized about his desk and her? He must have dreamed about that more than seeing her in a skirt and heels again. Riza writhed under him, probably crumpling the papers she had delivered, but she was the only one who ever cared about them anyway. Her legs tightened over his naked waist as he plowed into her, harder and faster with each thrust. It was quick, and that pace made her thrash against him, the desperation taking over her as well. He was getting good at being quick; sweat drenching his forehead till his dark hair was plastered to his skin. Her hair was a mess, half falling out when he grabbed the long blond tresses to haul her up for another kiss. Roy held her close, both of them wrapped up in each other till they were a tangle of blue and black fabric, feverish skin, and frenzied movements.

Riza shuddered in his arms as the raw burn in her skin caved with release. She bit his neck to keep from screaming as she came, but Roy only gave a growl at the pain. He didn't slow down, couldn't slow down, as the need to consume her drove him onward even after she'd started to relax around him. His hands gripped her hips tightly in the final moments, pinning down her wiggling form as he thrust into her. Suddenly, as he felt the fire within his loins pour out in release, Mustang no longer wished they were in his office in a building full of busybodies so he could scream. Riza must have seen that in his tightly clenched face as she pulled his head down against her breasts. As he came inside her, he did scream, his body stiffening while his frustration and anger poured out in his muffled voice. Roy collapsed on top the Lieutenant, his subordinate, his girlfriend, his lover.

After a minute full of heavy breathing, he crawl off of her to flop down in his chair, holding his head in his hands, "That was . . . sorry . . ."

"Sorry?" Riza said as she blinked at him while slowly getting up, not bothering to fix her clothes quite yet, "I'd say that is about the only area where your performance isn't lagging."

She grinned at Roy, and a small smile made its way onto his face before falling into a deep frown, "What am I going to do? Last night was a disaster. No one got killed, thank God, but all our suspects died, all our evidence went up in smoke, we couldn't find those snipers, and our department has almost broken the record for the most property damage in a single night," he groaned again, then started to pull his clothes back into place, the agitation showing in his hands. "I have a meeting after lunch with Major General Mitchell to discuss last night, and the way it's looking, by the end of the day I'll have so much brass shoved up my ass I'll be spitting metals."

Riza couldn't help it any more as she giggled, pulling her underwear and pants back up, "The only thing routinely shoved up your ass is me and the latest stack of paper work you avoid, but you don't complain too much about that anymore."

Roy smirked, his fly still hanging open as he looked at her, "I thought I was supposed to be the pervert here . . ."

She blushed, and kicked his legs hard before turning back to her clothes, "You know, you could have avoided wasting an hour dilly-dallying with me if you'd actually read the report I filed over last night."

"But I love dallying with you," he whined, despite the handsome smile that spread across his face. Riza stopped at the sight of his dark eyes, big and full of mischief while looking into hers. He was doing it again, being charming and infuriating at the same time. She shoved her black shirt back into her pants, shaking her head when it didn't work, "Roy, fix your pants and read the damned report, then maybe you'll understand."

Grumbling, he did as she said, trying hard not to look disappointed when she finished getting dressed and went back to organizing his desk. When Roy tried to grab her again, she shoved a piece of paper in front of his face, forcing him to take it. He grumbled over it as he pulled it from her hands, and began reading. She turned to leave when his hand grabbed the back of her pants and belt, pulling her into his lap with a start, "Damnit it, Roy, we don't have-!"

"I'm reading," he muttered, completely ignoring her protest, and wrapped his arm over her waist as she squirmed. When she couldn't break free, Riza sighed and leaned away from him, waiting for him to finish reading so she could make her escape. A confused look marred Mustang's face, his eyebrows crunched together before they suddenly shot up. She smirked, as he must have gotten to the last line. "So . . ." he started slowly, "You think that based on the trajectory of that shot, the sniper meant to kill FullMetal?"

"It makes sense. The guy was shot in the chest, and in the scheme of our investigation, he meant nothing. I hate to say it, but even if you did interrogate him successfully last night, he wouldn't have known what we were looking for. Edward was the only one close to him at the time, and being that he's short and ducked before the shot went off . . ." she explained.

"The bullet meant for him hit our suspect, but who? Why? Admittedly, he'd got a talent for being an annoying pain in the ass, but . . . it doesn't make sense. I have more enemies than he does," Mustang said as he looked skeptical, "It doesn't explain the bomb either, or why there was more than one sniper, and why when they missed they shot at all of us instead of targeting Edward."

"That's what we need to investigate. Hughes's office was dealing with looking into the bomb. It may confirm my theory."

"That theory being that a group of assassins is after the pip-squeak?"

"Well, if the shoe fits . . . won't know for certain till they strike again."

Roy let her slide off of his lap as he sunk down in the chair, brooding. This wasn't good if she was right. He didn't like it when anyone in his unit was threatened. Even if he showed it only to her and no one else, he cared about the people serving under him. In a way, it made up for the family they all lacked, which was probably why they were all so loyal to him on top of believing in his ultimate goal. And now someone was out to kill one of them. Roy's frown deepened, "Where exactly is FullMetal this morning?"

" . . . Late . . ."

Now that wasn't good.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 2, Ballistic. 


	2. Ballistic

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 2 – Ballistic

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story, but no naughty bits in this chapter. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Nice dreams seemed to come more readily to Edward recently, especially in the hazy hours he spent sleeping late into the morning. And the dream he had just been having was a very nice one too. It was of Winry repairing him again, naked. He was naked too, but that wasn't the point. The point was that she was fixing more than just his arm, and it felt much too good to wake up from. Which was why when Al had finally shaken his brother awake, he slipped into his usual early morning berserker rage the instant his amber eyes opened. "Damn it! Stop shaking! I'm up!" Ed yelled, waving the armored gauntlet on his shoulder away before he buried his face in a pillow wet with drool, groaning, "Just when it was at the good part . . ."

"Brother, you've been sleeping all morning, and I don't think the Colonel's going to like it much if we're-," Al said, and he could almost feel the frown in his brother's hollow voice. If he hadn't mentioned Mustang then the short alchemist might have listened. Instead, Ed grabbed the second pillow on his bed and pulled it over his head to drown his brother out, "I don't give a rat's ass what that bastard thinks, I'm going back to sleep."

Even with the pillow over his ears he could still hear Alphonse's pleading whine. Why did always he make that little sound? As soon as he did that, Ed always caved like a lop-sided house of cards. Maybe it was his guilt kicking in again. "Brother . . ." he heard Al say, and that was enough to make him turn in the bed, glaring daggers at the suit of armor when the pillow slid off his head.

"Fine," Ed muttered, groggy as he started to get up. He wasn't really awake as his eyelids still drooped down, the dream lingering in the back of his head, half remembered and half replaying over again. He really missed waking up next to her right about now. But as another pillow slammed into his gut, that blissful little dream was shattered by a rude shove into wakefulness along with Al's shriek, "Ew! Gross! Brother!"

"What?!" He shouted back, already scowling, more perturbed than normal with him.

"That!" the metal armor said, pointing a shaking finger at his pillow-cover lap. It finally occurred to Edward that his boxers were a little tighter than normal. It figured. It was after all a really, really good dream. Groaning, he crawled out of the bed and stomped towards the bathroom, using the pillow like a shield. "Oh, get off it, Al. We have this argument every morning when one of these episodes occurs. It's not gross, it's supposed to be normal remember."

"Normal? That's normal? I don't remember Mr. Hughes talking about that in his lecture to us on girls and babies after Elysia was born," Al grumbled, watching his brother retreat, happy that at least he was out of bed and moving.

"If you had a body again, you'd be getting them too, little brother," His brother said before chuckling darkly, and the metal armor bristled with anger. If Al didn't know better, anyone might have called his reaction jealous rather than insulted. In some things, he was jealous of Ed, like being able to taste food, or being able to pet the kittens he picked up, or actually feeling the sun on his skin. But getting that thing every morning was one occurrence he would never be jealous of. No, if anything, he was more peeved at his brother would use his little problem as an excuse to be in the bathroom longer, making them even later. "Havoc said it was normal, remember?" Ed shouted back, "Before he tried to give us that magazine that Hawkeye shot to pieces."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I must have blanked it out, as the magazine was bad enough, who could even look at girls like that?" Al asked while his brother tried not to grin, "I mean, you don't look at Winry like that do you?"

Ed sputtered at the sudden question while brushing his teeth, a rambling series of denials coming from his mouth, "Winry? Course not! Who would ever-? I mean really-?! Al, how could you-?! Just-?! This is Winry you're talking about! For goodness-! . . . No, I don't think of her like that . . ."

Al's hollow voice gave a low, pondering hum, not quite believing his brother. He always did that as soon as Winry was mentioned anymore. The startled look in his eyes, the sputtering, the vehement denial of anything about her that didn't deal with her violent tendencies and his automail, it all added up to something that Al couldn't place his finger on. It also made him wonder about his brother just a little, "Do you think of any girls like that?"

He has stopped in the middle of moving his toothbrush back and forth to slowly turn his head towards Alphonse. Did he just ask what he thought he asked? He was asking if he liked-? A shade between green and purplish-red crept over Edward's face, as if he was going to simultaneously die of embarrassment and anger before retching his guts out. There was only one logical response to that question as he spit out his toothpaste violently into the sink, "Ewww! Al! Of course I like girls! Just-just-just, not Winry, ok?! She's our best friend! You can't ask me these questions!"

"Why not, Brother?!"

"Because you're still ten! And you still think like you're ten! You still equate every pretty woman we meet with mom!"

"But mom was pretty! Maybe I just can't think about girls except like that! But . . . why can't I ask you about girls?! You just admitted to thinking of girls like that, so why?!"

". . . Ask me again when we're older, but not now!" Ed yelled at Al before tossing the pillow he still clutched at the helm, nearly knocking it off, and slamming the bathroom door. Al sat there in the silence after the shouting match, assessing the results. It was inconclusive, like all their arguments. He knew for certain two things: that his brother was hiding something, and that he was changing in small ways. Ever since that summer, he was slowly relaxing. He still argued, a lot, but he'd stopped picking fights or he would let them slide. And there were moments when he actually had his nose out of an alchemy book, and paid attention. And all those trips back to Rizembool. Al was under the assumption his brother didn't like visiting where their home was because of everything that has happened there, which was why they burnt the house down in the first place, but . . .

Winry didn't seem to mind having them, and Ed didn't seem to object to prolonged visits.

It made him hum thoughtfully again, just pondering, going over the evidence in his head. The sound of running water came from the bathroom, and he knew his brother was in the shower. That was another thing he was jealous of, a nice, warm shower, and that thought distracted him. He needed to get out of there before they had another argument over nothing. "Stupid brothers . . ." Al muttered as he wandered out, knowing that the only thing that would make him feel better was trying to take in another cat.

Besides, the ensuing fight with Ed over keeping it or not would be enough retribution for one morning.

* * *

Mustang almost bolted out of the office after Riza's revelations. Damn that kid! He had to pick today to sleep in! Since when was he turning into a surrogate father for those damned brats anyway? Roy grumbled at those thoughts as he walked quickly down the hallway, Hawkeye right behind him as usual, handing him his winter coat as they went. "I don't think this is a good idea, please sir, let me come with you. We can get a car from the motor pool, and get there quickly," she explained, trying to catch up with him, "Going on your own isn't such a wise-."

"I know I'm not being wise at the moment, but those kids are our responsibility, and I need you to take care of things here till I can bring them in," he growled at her, not needing his orders questioned right now, as he took the stairs instead of the elevator, "What did you tell me once after the State Evaluation Exam before we got transferred, the one thing that could stop FullMetal completely in his tracks?"

"A bullet to the head, sir, but I didn't think anyone would have the balls to shoot at him."

"We're all allowed to make mistakes, Hawkeye . . ."

"Roy . . ." she said, and he finally stopped, turning to look at her. She was standing on the staircase above, leaning over the railing as he was already going down to the next floor. There was something in her brown eyes that made his jaw snap shut before he could mutter the practical retorts he'd been thinking of to appease her. And yet, she was worried, very worried, and it showed. It wasn't like her to be this concerned or emotional, at least in public. Women's intuition? Maybe their relationship had finally made her paranoid over his safety like he was paranoid over hers? God, he really hated it now that both of them were in the military. His dark eyes widened, pleading with her silently to let him go before he spoke, "I'll be fine, Riza, we'll be fine, please, trust me."

She frowned at him, her shoulders slumping, but she nodded reluctantly anyway, "At least give me something to do, don't make me just wait here for you."

"Go to Maes, find out everything he knows about that bomb. Maybe you two putting your heads together will come up with enough evidence to prove your theory or come up with something else. If you're right, start pouring over every case the whole department has worked for the year. I want a list of known enemies just in case, and we also need a plan on how to hide them till we can figure this all out, and . . ." Roy said before he stopped, looking into her eyes.

He ran back up the stairs and grabbed her hand, tugging her across the landing towards one of the corridors. Riza glared at him in shock, thinking he was crazy as he pushed her into one of the small alcoves between offices. He glanced around them, making sure they were alone. Everywhere he looked the hallways were deserted, while he could hear the dull hum of work from the other rooms. She was just about to yell at him, her mouth open and angry words on the tip of her tongue when he kissed her.

Her voice squawked into his lips in surprise, then melted into low moan as her eyes slid shut. Roy's hands held her face, forcing her to be still as his tongue entwined with hers. Yet, instead of just letting him have his way with her, she fought back. She always fought back when he kissed her, as much passion in her lips as she could muster. It sucked him in and made him forget how easily someone could see them. Reluctantly, he pushed away, exhaling the breath he'd been holding, "I have to go . . . be a good girl till I get back."

Riza snorted loudly as he pushed her out and towards the stairs going up, angry more with herself for how easily she let him get to her than at his words. She was just about to yell at him about how she was anything but a good girl when she watched him descend the other stair case, looking up at her. Roy's lips mouthed the words 'love you' to her, and her anger faded away, her eyes stuck on him till he was gone. If there were strings attached to her heart, he was holding them, making her emotions dance just for him. She wanted to scream at how easily she'd handed that control to him, but it was too late now. With a sigh, Riza continued up the steps. She did love him, and she wouldn't take it back on her life, which made it harder for her to protect him all the same. The Lieutenant shook her head, muttering to herself, "Stupid men . . ."

* * *

It took Roy a good thirty minute walk through the snow to make it to the military personnel dormitories away from Headquarters where the boys were staying. They had originally been in the common barracks till enough complaints had been lodged about the noise, the alchemistic mishaps, and the stray cats to get them thrown out on higher orders a few months ago. Maybe it was better this way, Riza had argued at the time, since they could learn to be independent outside of the barracks lifestyle, and learn to be kids again too. He had rolled his eyes then, and he still rolled his eyes now. They were already independent and still acted like kids, noisy, angry, dysfunctional kids if they managed to get tossed out that easily. He couldn't blame them, given everything but . . . damn it if Ed would just grow up a little maybe his life would be easier. At least the shrimp wasn't giving him grey hairs, yet.

Roy stopped outside the building when he noticed a hulking metal figure nearly hidden in the end of one of the alleys. It was Alphonse alright, almost miss-able as he was crouched down. Walking around, he immediately noticed the young orange-striped cat he was petting with back of one metal covered figure. And of course, the little fur-ball loved the attention, its tail waving back and forth lazily. This wasn't exactly the emergency he'd expected to find when Riza said the boys were late. It was so sweet that for a moment Mustang could nearly feel a cavity growing. Shame he had to break it up though, "Good morning, Al."

300 pounds of metal, chainmail, leather, and human soul shot straight up, springing to face him, "Uh, Colonel! Sir! Um . . . good morning?"

As the cat ran with the heavy clinking of metal, the smug grin on Roy's face dissolved into chuckles, "Sorry to scare you and your little friend, and I should say afternoon, as it's almost lunch . . . is FullMetal still here?"

"Yeah, he should be down soon . . ." Al said, his eyes shifting in the helm, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, sir, why are you here?"

"Something's come up."

"About last night?" he asked, and Roy nodded. He glanced over his shoulder a moment, wondering idly if he was followed to the boys' housing. For a moment, he swore there was a tingle on the back of his neck, as if he was being watched. Which way had he taken again? Maybe it was just Riza's paranoia rubbing off on him. Once he got them to Headquarters, they could sort this all out. He looked back at Al, and pointed towards the door, "I'll explain more inside."

With a small squeak, he nodded and led the way, not asking about the Colonel's behavior as Roy continued to glance behind them till they were inside. The door to the room the boys stayed in at the end of the hallway opened when they were almost there, FullMetal stepping out, dressed and with a pack slung over his shoulder. Looking up, the frown on his face turned into a curious stare before dropping into a scowl, "What is this? Door to door harassment now?"

Roy frowned, "Not even a hello to your superior? I really should get Hawkeye to teach you more manners."

"Brother . . ." Al said in a pleading voice, knowing this couldn't end well.

For once Ed managed to reign in his temper, crossing his arms after pulling the door closed, "It isn't like you to make social calls, and you normally send someone else to pick us up unless it's an emergency, so what's wrong, Colonel?"

"Let's talk inside the room. You both need to hear this, but the rest of the building doesn't," Mustang said as his dark eyes shifted sideways. The urge to look over his shoulder was getting to be a pain. When Ed noticed the glance, it raised an alarm in his head that something was wrong as well. He opened the door and walked in, letting them in before closing it again. Roy tried not to frown as he noticed the untidiness of the room, stacks of alchemy books everywhere, along with used clothes, overflowing trashcans, and enough dust to make everything look slightly grey. He didn't remember his room being this bad when he was younger. For a moment he stared, making a mental note to get Hawkeye or Gracia Hughes to check in on these two when everything blew over. Those two would care enough about the Elric's living conditions to not question his judgment. He turned to Edward and Alphonse as they sat down on one of the unmade beds, looking up at him. "I'm sure you both remember last night . . ." he started.

Ed snorted, "Who wouldn't?"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye filed her report on what happened this morning, and after reading-."

"You actually did paperwork?" FullMetal asked while looking up at the Flame Alchemist, the look of awe on his face either genuine or very, very sarcastically canned. Either way, Roy frowned. He didn't have time for this. Growling at the kid, he said, "I actually do work, Major, as shocking as it is. Now pay attention because this is a matter of your safety, and not any of my supposed manipulations."

For once, his jaw snapped shut, listening as Mustang continued, "The Lieutenant calculated the trajectory of the shot that hit our suspect, and by all indications, that bullet was meant for you."

The teenager blinked at him, "What?"

"Someone's trying to kill you, Ed."

"What?! Sir, how is this possible?! I mean, people have tried to kill us before, but . . . an assassin?! Why would someone-?!" Al started, having a more hysterical response than his brother till he was stopped by being pulled back down before he could spring off of the bed. Roy exhaled the breath he'd been holding since he started to break the news to them, grateful that at least Edward was taking this seriously . . . till he noticed the perpetual scowl on his face again, "You don't expect me to believe this, do you?"

"Do you really believe I'd be here if I didn't trust Hawkeye's sharp-shooting knowledge? Snipers go for the head, but our suspect was hit in the chest around where your head would have been if you hadn't ducked," Roy questioned him, continuing when there was no response, "I don't have all the answers right now, and in all honesty, we won't know till they strike again. I intend to get you both to safety first before that happens."

Edward was still scowling, no matter how much sincerity he put into his words. He didn't look moved at all, while Al on the other hand was fidgeting, the armor clanking with shivers, "Brother, maybe he has a point, you were awfully close when the bullet hit the guy . . ."

"But what am I supposed to do, Al, give up the quest for the Stone and worry about myself?"

"Wouldn't be that much of a change of pace . . ." Roy muttered to himself, before cringing when he was obviously overheard with Ed's next out-burst, "What's that supposed to mean?! You're the one who's selfish! I bet you're just here instead of one of your lackeys just to look good for another promotion!"

The Colonel glared down on him as the words hit a little too deep, "I don't have time to argue my reasons, FullMetal. Now get up and get moving, I'm escorting you both to Headquarters."

"I can go on my own!" Ed shouted back at him, unable to squelch his pride long enough to reason that he was bordering on insubordination, even if Mustang hadn't hurled an order at him yet, "I'm not useless like you!"

The young alchemist stormed past him and out of the room before he could shout back. Al shot up after him, trying to keep up with the pounding of metal, "Wait! Brother!"

"Shit," Roy cursed, following as well. He was beginning to really hate that kid. If the assassin didn't get him first, maybe he just would. And he called him useless too! Why did everyone choose that word to insult him?! After bolting down the stairs and running outside, he noticed Al right on Edward's tail as he lagged behind. Growling, Mustang took off, trying to think of every short-cut to Headquarters that he knew as he ran. He muttered to himself, rounding another corner down a side alley, "Gah, kids these days! When I catch that short punk, I'll ring his neck!"

He ran around a set of trash cans, weaving in and out of the refuse littering the ground while avoiding the large piles of packed snow. Dimly, he could still hear their raised voices along with all the metal, which sounded like a rolling trash-heap when Al ran at full speed. Roy growled a little louder as they got closer, sprinting out of the alley before skidding to a halt. He emerged right in front of Edward, who stopped so short that he fell backwards, landing on his rump. Al stopped short too, but not quickly enough, plowing into both of them as armor went flying. Underneath what must have been the shoulder of a breastplate, the Colonel groaned in pain, "I am getting too old for this . . ."

* * *

After untangling themselves from the pile of armor and reassembling Al, Edward caved, walking silently, and doggedly slow, next to Mustang, even if he didn't like it one bit. Why did everyone in Central still treat him and Al like kids? Hadn't he passed the exam on his own? Didn't he do enough for them? Didn't he survive enough horrors with his sanity still intact? Like Nina, or the Chopper, or Scar, or Lior? He was grumbling along those lines, the word respect slipping out once or twice, loud enough that Mustang snorted in laughter upon hearing him. Ed's angry scowl turned towards the source of the noise, "I bet you're just getting a kick of this, aren't you?"

"Honestly not, twerp, I don't like anyone in my department being in trouble," he said with a deepening frown, "Maybe if you didn't act so reckless, someone wouldn't be out for your head right now."

Of course, Ed wasn't listening. The only word that got through to him of course was the one related to his height, "Who are you calling a twerp so small that he ought to-bahhhh, you're not worth it . . ."

Roy rolled his eyes, grateful that FullMetal not only managed to keep his height-sensitive temper in check but also his choice of insults. It was always funny that he insulted himself far more than what anyone actually said about him. At least he didn't pick up his office's habit of swearing like there was no tomorrow. He could hear Al coming closer, the hollow voice talking to Ed, "Maybe he's right, brother. I know you've been taking more breaks lately, but now that it's close to leave again, you've been-."

"Great, Al, thanks, take up his side why I don't you?" he muttered, kicking at a stone on the sidewalk, "I'm just frustrated between last night and today, like I'm getting side tracked by doing everything but what we've set out to do . . . and I'm friggen starving, can we stop for food?"

"I'll buy lunch in the officer's mess if you stop complaining and keep walking," Roy said darkly, trying hard not to think in hindsight of how much that offer would cost him. Ed's appetite wasn't short at all. It was worth the blow to bank account though as the kid's mood seemed to have shifted with the prospect of all the food he could eat. But then again, he looked a little too vindictively happy. Mustang was almost thinking of taking it back when Al broke in, "You know, we're close to that restaurant you always go to for-!"

There was a loud bang of metal hitting metal behind them, coming from the suit of plate armor. Roy shoved Edward off his feet and down into a snow bank next to a car. A cry went up from the few people walking outside at the noise. Around him people were panicking, hurriedly getting off the once calm street. He spun around to see a new hole through Al's breastplate. "Huh?" was all the youngest Elric could say as another bullet struck through his helm.

"Al!" yelled Ed as he started to get up till Mustang pulled him back down while he crouched behind the car too. Curses started flying from the Colonel's mouth when more bullets rained down onto the car, the pavement, and the building facade, the only sound coming from their impact. Al regained enough of his senses to dive down next to them before he was hit again. His brother started to get up, clapping his hands together once with a spark of blue-white light till the Colonel shoved him back, yelling at him, "Stay the fuck down!"

"But Al-!"

"I'm fine, Brother!"

"But-!"

"We're being shot at! Worry about that!" Roy shouted at them both, trying to think quickly. Who ever they were, they were using silencers when the sound of another round hit the car without the bang of gunpowder. The shots also came quickly together, meaning there were more than one, and that they were all a bad aim he noted when some shots sailed over the car completely. He looked over at Edward when the noise stopped momentarily, the fear evident in his amber eyes and knitted brow. Roy smirked. He didn't like being up bullets either. He should have listened to Riza, her words of warning coming back to him. And he certainly could have used her right about now.

If he could distract the snipers long enough, the boys could make a break for it. Mustang glanced down at his gloves, and knew it was better than more property damage. "On the count of one, I want you both to start running towards Headquarters. Take the back alleys, and don't stop for anything," Roy ordered them, glancing over his shoulder then ducking at another blast of shots, "I'm going to distract them."

"What the hell-!? How!?" Ed questioned him, the scowl back.

"Same way I kicked your ass in the exam."

"I still won in the end, bastard!"

"It was a draw!"

"Win!"

"Gah, just do as I say, FullMetal!"

"But what about you, sir?!" Al asked, obviously terrified from the shake in his voice. That was a good question, and even Roy didn't know the answer. Once he let off a burst of fire, he wasn't sure what would happen, if it would work or not, or if they'd be gunning for him then. If he could just get the kids moving, that would be enough. "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you, but we have to move," he said, trying to convince himself of the same thing.

The two boys nodded, waiting in crouches as he started counting when the next round hit, "Three, two, one!"

Roy sprung up from his spot, and which a click of his fingers, shot off a plume of fire towards the building across the street, flaring over the roof till it was scorched. There was a large collective cry from the bystanders all around them at the sight, as well as the screech of car breaks, and the crunch of metal in collision. Then the bullets stopped, and the boys were off and running. It worked, for now. Mustang ran as well, following the sight of Edward's red coat and the clanking of Al. "Turn left!" He shouted and the young alchemists obeyed.

They ran head long down an alley, making sharp turns round the corners at Roy's barking orders of directions and moving quickly across the back streets of Central. Ed turned to shout back as they made another sharp right, thinking they had double-backed again, "Have we lost them yet?!"

"Shut up and keep running!" the Colonel yelled, his sense of danger still on high alert since the shooting on the street. This wasn't exactly how he'd pictured the assassin's next attempt. There would be hell to pay for this incident with the brass, and he knew it. At least it proved Riza's theory right.

* * *

He should have been back half an hour ago. Or at least that was what First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye thought as she tried not to pace outside of their department's office door, watching the stairs and elevator across the atrium for the Colonel or the Elrics. Her talk with Maes hasn't calmed her worries at all. In fact, it tripled them. She hated being right sometimes, most of those times coming when it dealt with Roy. Someone was gunning for Edward alright. The bomb was on a timer, and that timer was set for their original operation start time for the raid till Roy moved it up ahead of schedule at the last minute when they learned that the buyer was coming earlier too. That time had been all over their request forms for more personnel and equipment. She had filled in over half of them herself.

They had a mole, and it made her very nervous.

They could have known where the boys' dorms were after they'd been moved out of the barracks. They could be ambushed right now, and she was standing there with her thumb up her ass waiting because Roy ordered to wait. Instead of pacing, the heel of her boots tapped on the stone floor. She didn't like waiting for him at all. It was then that she heard the office phone ring. She nearly sprinted through the door to pick it up when Havoc grabbed it first. Riza nearly snapped at his grin till his face dropped, paling slight. "Is it the Colonel?" she asked, barely containing the panic lancing through her as her thoughts raced.

Jean hung the phone up after a few long silent moments, and started fumbling for his cigarettes, lighting up, rules or not, as he spoke, "That was the switch-board alert, there was a shoot out and a fire in the air reported a minute ago on Renard Drive, and knowing the Colonel . . ."

"That's halfway to the Elric's building from here."

Havoc nodded, taking a long drag "They also said a metal trashcan, a kid in a red coat, and a guy in a blue uniform were seen fleeing the scene."

Riza sprang into action, grabbing her coat and the key for the gun cabinet from her desk, "Jean, you have two minutes to go and commandeer a car from the motor pool, the fastest one they have. Bring it to the front driveway, and keep it running till I get there."

"Sir! Er, ma'am! Um . . . where are we going?"

Hawkeye's brown eyes narrowed as she unlocked the cabinet, pulling out her long-range rifle and scope. He'd told her to wait for him, and now she was about to commit insubordination. He'd reprimanded her later, for sure, but would thank her even later than that. It would all be worth it if they were still alive by the time she found them, "To find Colonel Mustang."

* * *

The alley suddenly ended as they sprung out onto another sidewalk, and stopped, this one busier as there was a press of people around them. Looking around, Mustang realized they where they were, and cursed out loud, "Dammit, I over guessed, we're ten blocks east."

"Smart move, Colonel," Ed sneered before turning right and starting through the crowd. Roy didn't like this at all as they tried to make their way through the packed sidewalk. There were too many people around if the assassins struck again. Civilian deaths, the last thing he needed on his conscience. He needed to get them out of here fast, "Go two blocks up and take that alley."

"Your sense of direction going to get us ten blocks west of Headquarters then?"

"Brother . . ."

"For crying out loud, Al, we were shot at! You have at least three holes in you now and are damned lucky it didn't hit the blood seal! And Colonel Bastard got us lost!"

"We are not lost!" Roy shouted back, the little brat's attitude finally getting to him, "It's this kind of attitude that's probably why someone's trying to shoot you in the first place! At least now you believe me!"

Edward spun around, flying up and over his brother's shoulder to shout in his face, "I may believe you now, but you're still a fucking idi-, Colonel, look! Up there!"

Mustang turned and looked at where the boy's finger was pointing, a shadow darting across the roof, "God, they're right on top of us."

Panicking, Roy shoved Al forward, plowing him through the crowd with shouts from startled people. The alley was still far off. They'd never make it going this slow. He turned back to watch the shadow, tracking its movement above them. Was it one or two? The figures split apart, hazy in the glaring sunlight reflecting off the snow. Who ever they were or how ever many, it was more important that he stopped them. "Down! Now!" he shouted to Al, and the armor toppled forward, covering his brother as Roy's fingers clicked.

The fire went straight up along with a scream from the crowd. People scattered, giving them an opening as he shouted, "Run!"

Al plunked Ed off the snow-covered pavement and set him on his feet, tugging him along as they ran for the next alley. The Colonel looked up, trying to find the ones chasing them again. They were gone. Or were they? Not about to find out, Roy took off after the boys, following them. How he wished he'd listened to Riza now.

* * *

Edward collapsed, nearly exhausted as he pressed flat against one of the alley walls. He was wheezing for breath and clutching his chest. Every muscle in his body was protesting moving again. Even his automail felt sluggish. "I can't run anymore," he declared, shaking his head at the Colonel who stood across from him looking just as tired.

"I'm fine," Al said as they both glared at him.

"We don't have much of a choice," Roy said finally as he glanced up again, praying this small break wouldn't cost them dearly. Despite how cold it was with the snow all around, he felt like he was overheating as he pulled at the collar of his jacket and winter coat. He was also starting to get too used to the prickling of paranoia at the back of his neck, probably not a good thing. They needed to keep moving. "Come on, I think we're only three blocks away now," he said as he started to move despite the protest of his feet.

"You think? You said we were three blocks away five minutes ago before we got shot at again . . ." Ed said as he scowled. This time Al didn't stop his brother when he heard the dangerously pissed off tone of his voice. He'd given up along time ago trying to make him calm down, as he wasn't too calm right then either. Roy glared back at him, his anger snapping again. The two of them were set to start another argument when there was a noise above them. It sounded like the sliding of a roof tile. "Shit," the Colonel cursed as he grabbed FullMetal by his jacket, and pushed him ahead of them, "Move! Now!"

They ran again as the bullets came down where they had just been standing. Before long, the alley opened onto another deserted, unplowed street except for one car quickly coming towards them through the snow. "Great, they have fucking backup?" Roy cursed again, his words nearly incoherent over the beating of adrenaline in his heart.

As he glanced to his right, the capital over Headquarters loomed. He pointed, and the boys took off as he followed. They nearly flew down the sidewalk, crushing snow into the pavement in their wake. When they came close to another intersection, Edward heard a faint click as they skidded to a halt while bullets hit the road in front of them. Roy snapped his fingers towards the rooftop snipers, stalling for time as the boys started moving again. They were about to cross to the next block when a rifle appeared out the passenger window of the car coming down the street.

He hated being right.

The Flame Alchemist grabbed the both of them by the neck and pulled them back, stopping Al while sending Edward sprawling in the snow, "Jerk! What the hell!"

He pointed at the car, and was about to snap his fingers when the gun pointed up towards the roof before taking a shot. A sniping shot from a moving car? He only knew one person that good with a gun . . . "Riza!" he yelled as the car stopped in front of them with a squelch of breaks.

The car horn honked, and Mustang had never felt gladder to see Havoc driving. Hawkeye pounced over the Second Lieutenant till he was pressed into the steering wheel, almost hanging out the window with her rifle. "Get in!" she yelled as she fired more shots up towards the roof.

Ed didn't need to be told that, as he was already at the door with Al right behind him. Roy followed them, shots raining down behind him and hitting the side of the car as he slammed the door shut, "Drive!"

Jean pushed Riza back into her seat, making her nearly drop the rifle and shoot windshield out as she glared at him. He ignored all of her stares and hit the gas, taking off down the street at a speed that certainly wasn't legal. With bullets no longer whizzing by them, Roy and Ed sat sprawled in exhaustion all over Alphonse and the back seat. "Sir?" Riza asked as he couldn't stop gulping for air, "Are you ok?"

If he wasn't so damned happy to see her again, he might have glared at her. Instead, he put his head back on the seat, "No, I'm not ok. We were shot at, and we've been running for nearly fifty blocks."

"Fifty?"

"He got us lost," Edward muttered, not feeling any compulsion whatsoever to not glare at Riza himself. She rolled her eyes as Jean snickered from the driver's seat, slowing down enough to not break any traffic laws as they were headed back towards Headquarters. Roy grumbled at the dissention in the ranks, "Yuck it up, so I don't know every back alley and dive in this town yet, does anyone else in this car think they could have done better?"

FullMetal was the only one to raise his hand, albeit weakly, while the rest of them looked sheepishly around the vehicle. He looked up to scowl at the kid then flopped his head back again, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Ed grinned in victory, putting his hand back down. There was nothing but silence in the car, even from Al. It took the young alchemist a long time during the ride to finally admit defeat to the Colonel, "I can't believe you were right. Someone is trying to kill me."

"Told you so."

"Brother . . . what are we going to do?" Al asked, suddenly feeling rather insignificant. For a long moment, he was silent, thinking over that thing himself. Guns were about the one thing he couldn't defeat with his alchemy, no matter how quickly he could clap his hands together and envision the circles. It made him worried . . . very worried. Glancing over to the adults in the car, he probably said the first sensible thing he'd said all day, "I have no idea . . ."

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 3, Who's Coming to Dinner. 


	3. Who's Coming to Dinner

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 3 – Who's Coming to Dinner

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story, just some of it isn't in this chapter. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Ed grumbled as he walked down the street two steps behind Lieutenant Hawkeye, the sun setting early. What was left of the snow looked orange and crimson in the fading daylight, not counting the occasional spots of dirt and stones left from plowing it off the streets. It would have struck him as pretty if he weren't dwelling on everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. He'd been shot at more times than he could remember. He'd run for his life, which wasn't anything too new or unfamiliar, just his normal chases never lasted that long. His brother had gotten shot too, but a little alchemy patched that up.

And now?

He was going into hiding in a woman's apartment. Edward didn't like the idea himself, but the flabbergasted look on Colonel Mustang's face when she proposed the idea, let alone went ahead with it was worth it. Yup, after he had declared that he had no clue what to do, this was the grand scheme the adults had cooked up for his safety. He was to hide out in the Lieutenant's apartment, while Al would be staying with the Armstrong's till it was all clear. His poor brother was stuck with the Strong Arm alchemist for who knew how long, but at least he was out of danger. But then again, if the Major's family was anything like him . . . maybe he was getting the better end of the deal by going with Riza.

Edward tried not to feel too oddly about it as he watched the Lieutenant in front of him. She was dressed in a grey wool suit, charcoal grey long coat with a heavy fox-fur collar, and a red-knitted scarf over her neck, nearly hidden under her long blond hair. He did like her, he supposed, as a friend, and she was certainly easier to get along with than the Colonel. She turned the corner, and he followed behind her, stopping only to steady the brown grocery bag he carried. After sneaking out the back of Headquarters dressed like civilians, the first thing Miss Hawkeye decided with her new charge was that they needed food, lots of food, and Edward couldn't agree more. He wished though that they'd gotten him some more clothes. The plain brown wool slacks and blue shirt he wore under the heavy drab brown trench coat and white scarf were alright if a little big, but he didn't know how many changes he had left in his small pack.

She looked over the nearly empty street, scanning the rooftops as well as each alley and side road they crossed. He bit the inside of his lip to keep from feeling nervous, still jumpy after all the shooting. But, he did feel safer around someone who knew how to shoot back, and even safer knowing she was carrying a rifle under that coat. And yet, he found himself scanning the streets they passed too, fidgeting with the new brown wool cap on his head. Riza looked over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly, "Relax, Edward, we're almost there."

"That's easy for you to say . . ." he muttered, ducking his head behind the fruit in the top of the tall bag, "No one wants to squash you head like an over-ripe melon."

"I'm in the military too, and I've been shot at more times than I care to remember, maybe even more so Roy, so you're safe with me," she said with another warm smile that finally made him relax enough to stop fidgeting as she continued, "I know this isn't an ideal situation, but we'll make the best of it, I'm just glad my apartment has a spare room."

"It was nice of you, but aren't you putting yourself in danger too?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched together. Riza's smile faded somewhat, reminded of the young alchemist's intellect despite the lack of maturity. "That's why we're going to be cautious, and I'll need you to follow my orders, alright? I know you argue with the Colonel because you doubt his interests, but don't doubt mine," she said without turning around, back to watching the sidewalks as they crossed another street.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Did Jean get everything you needed from your rooms?"

"Yes, ma'am. Well, except for a few things . . ."

"I'm sure he tried to cram what he could into your pack, but taking your suitcase might have looked suspicious . . ." she said, remembering that argument when he wanted to bring some of those alchemy books crammed into his pack instead of the already limited amount of clothes he had, "If it's anything very important, I'll see if I can get him to pick them up tomorrow."

"Thank you . . . I suppose it's pointless to ask, but did you learn anything about who's trying to kill me?" he questioned, but all she could do was shake her head. Edward sighed, and so did Riza. She didn't like this any more than he did. After listening to Roy's story of their ordeal, it didn't make sense to her. It didn't seem like a professional job at all, or else the department would have been mourning over their dead bodies. That thought chilled her more than the winter wind as it picked up. No, they were dealing with rank amateurs, probably hired thugs who didn't know proper sharp shooting. She'd hit one of them today, but when a second team went to investigate, the body was gone except for the blood. Maybe they weren't complete amateurs, just smart ones.

It also bothered her that there was a mole somewhere in Headquarters.

Maybe Roy had the right approach to paperwork after all by doing it last minute, especially for such secret operations like raids. Regardless, when she had told the office of her discovery while working with Maes, and that it was handed over to Internal Affairs, the Colonel looked even more put out than when she mentioned her plan to hide Edward. His usual unflappable exterior had cracked behind his eyes while he remained hidden behind his usual calculatingly calm expression. Could this have been the scenario of total disaster he feared? Probably not, but it wasn't good. She almost pitied Kain and Heymans tonight, as they'd been ordered to stay late into the night to go over all their old cases. If they just had a lead, a motive, something . . . she wouldn't feel so useless. But, Riza supposed, being a bodyguard for Ed for the time being was useful. "You know, this is probably the first time since learning alchemy that I felt, well . . ." Edward started to admit before stopping, "I guess I do have some short-comings after all."

She couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the pun, trying not to let it distract her as she covered her mouth with her hand. Surprisingly, Ed found himself chuckling too even if it was deeply embarrassing, "You didn't hear that from me."

"Oh, trust me, Major FullMetal, I am very discreet on such . . . err, matters," she said, but still giggled. Somehow he had a sense of foreboding that his quote would be the talk of the office tomorrow between breaks in the investigation. He smirked and moved up next to her side, "Um, if I may ask, ma'am, but what am I going to do while hiding out? I can already see this becoming very boring very quickly."

"Well, we'll think of something. I know I don't have any books on alchemy, but I do keep a few story books you might like, and you can also start by calling me Riza. As much as I appreciate the manners, hearing ma'am non-stop at the office is quite enough," she stated before stopping to wonder if Roy felt the same way about when she called him 'sir' outside of the office out of habit.

"Yes, ma-err, Riza . . . Ed's fine too, no one calls me Edward really unless they're mad at me," he said with a slight smirk as he knew he was lying. There were moments when Winry called him Edward, and she was all things but mad at those times. With a blush, he remembered back to the last time she said it, vividly. He shifted the bag in his arms again as he didn't want to remember the episode that well at the moment. Unfortunately, Riza noticed, her brown eyes blinking. She didn't think it was that cold or windy to make him that flushed. Last thing she needed was a sick Edward Elric. "Are you ok?" she asked, half tempted to touch his forehead to see if he had a fever.

"Uhh," he started, a little stunned when he blushed about ten shades of red, "Yeah, just thinking really, nothing important."

"If you say so . . ." she said even if her eyes narrowed in curiosity. Riza was starting to wonder what had gotten into him when they finally came to the iron fence around her building. It was a welcoming sight to see, snow covering the ivy that clung to the brickwork on the exterior. She lead him through gate and up one of the shoveled garden paths, then in through the heavy oak door after pulled her key out of her satchel. They went up to the second floor, both of them much more relaxed now that they weren't out in the open. "The laundry is in the basement when you need it, and all the apartments have their own kitchens and baths, most of the other tenants aren't around . . ." she trailed off as she looked down the hallway to see an old lady emerging from one of the apartments, her neighbor, ". . . much."

Ed peeked over the top of the bag, curious, as the old woman walked towards them, leaning heavily on her wooden cane. For a moment, she reminded him of Pinako, but half as spry and with twice the height, girth, and perfume as he tried not to wrinkle his nose at the clotting yet stringent scent, like honeysuckle and mothballs. Riza seemed to recognize her as she smiled, but he noticed that it didn't reach up to her brown eyes, "Mrs. Greagor, so nice to see you again. Everything's well I hope."

"As to be expected, young lady. It is good to see you again too, as I had a favor to ask, oh," she started to say before her grey eyes moved over to Edward, noticing him for the first time, "And who's this fine young man?"

"Uh, Edward-."

"Edward Hawkeye, Mrs. Greagor," Riza cut in before he could utter the word 'Elric', "My nephew."

He tried not to gawk but couldn't keep his eyes from widening in shock. It was a good thing the old lady didn't notice, "Oh, this is the first time I've met your family, you never told me he was visiting."

"It was a sudden trip."

"He looks like you, must still be young for his height," she said with a soft laugh as he scowled a moment, "Staying long?"

"Um . . . no idea yet, his parents wanted me to look after him while they sort out . . . matters."

"Poor child . . ." she said with enough sympathy that he was starting to feel guilty that they were lying to her, "Oh dear, I hope this doesn't put a hamper on my favor to ask of you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I know you're a busy girl, but since you don't have any gentlemen callers, and rarely much else to do but work and take care of your dog, I was wondering if you could look over my apartment starting tomorrow. I have to go away for a while, to see my niece and my new grand niece. I'm a great aunt, so hard to believe . . . oh, but if you're busy with your own family . . ." the old woman said, something about the pleading look in her grey eyes reminding him of someone. He could feel Riza tense while standing next to him, noticing her gloved hands tightened into fists. And yet, she kept smiling, looking peacefully serene. "I think I can handle it, Mrs. Greagor," she said, her tone a little too polite for Ed's liking, "It would be a pleasure."

"Oh, dear girl, thank you so much! Now, make sure to water all the plants, and feed the cats. I have their feed all labeled, oh, and you might want to keep that pup of yours away from the ginger one, you remember what happened last time they crossed paths. I'll drop the key off in the morning."

"Yes, Mrs. Greagor."

"You sure I'm not imposing?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Greagor."

"Bless you, thank you again," she said with a bright smile before tottering towards the stairs, stopping to turn towards Riza again, "I do hope you find a nice young man soon, Miss Hawkeye, better than that shady looking dark-haired fellow. He seems too charming for his own good."

"I hope so too . . ." the Lieutenant ground out between her teeth, and the old lady was gone, down the stairs. Somewhere in the point of the conversation, Ed's eyebrows had shot up, trying to make sense of what had just happened, and why Riza looked angry when she opened the door to the apartment. She nearly slammed the door behind her after letting him in, pulling off her scarf in a huff, "Damn that blasted woman!"

Setting the bag of groceries down on a table near an open kitchen, the young alchemist blinked again at the outburst, not used to hearing her angry, "She seemed nice . . ."

Suddenly he felt like Al, probably sounded like him too. Riza didn't notice as she pulled off her coat more carefully, handling the rifle hidden underneath delicately. "She's nice if you don't notice the strings she's pulling at the same time," she muttered while hanging the coat on a series of pegs by the door and leaning the gun against the wall, "Don't fuss with the food, take your coat off, and put your pack down."

"Strings? You mean she's . . . manipulative?"

"Worse than the Colonel, and twice as effective. Sweet, little old ladies are hard to resist. Special Ops could take a lesson or two from her, not to mention she's too nosy for her own good, and she lets her precious cats run wild. The ginger one's the ringleader, and last summer the damned thing scratched up Hayate before he bit her. Those scratches were worse than the bite but the old woman won't let me forget it," Riza said as she starting pulling the containers from the bag, running them back and forth to the ice box while muttering to herself, "The nerve of her, my love life is my own business, and not subject to her opinion, and to call Roy shady looking is a-."

Her ranting stopped short as she realized she said that out loud while bent over putting bottle of milk inside with Edward not five paces behind her holding small bag of tomatoes, "You don't breathe a word of what I just said to anyone."

It was suddenly hard for him not to grin, "Right, nothing about your love life or Colonel Mustang being shady looking."

Riza groaned as she stood up, holding her head in her hands. That was about the last thing she needed after an encounter with her nosy old busybody neighbor. For a brief moment she wondered if she should ask the teenager how much he understood about her relationship with Roy, but then thought better of it. There was the hope that he was still innocent to the whole affair, yet. The fact that their whole office knew about it for months, and chose to remain tight-lipped on their own was lucky enough, but if the Elrics knew . . .

Maybe this wasn't as genius of a plan after all.

* * *

Roy knew this was a bad idea as soon as she'd said it, but, damned if she wasn't convincing. One look of those big, brown eyes of hers and he melted. He never, never, ever would have melted in the first place if he didn't know for a fact that she slept with a rifle by her bedroom door and a handgun under her pillow. It didn't help that since the shooting he was turning paranoid as hell, not just for Ed's safety but also for hers. What bothered him the most as he walked through the snow wasn't that they were letting the kid crash at her place, but that the kid in question had a giant bulls-eye stuck to him. This was all types of trouble, which was why he changed their plans, slightly, as he walked up the steps to her apartment with his old service pack slung over his back. He didn't look too dressed up to impress, black wool trousers, a white shirt, and black long coat with matching brimmed hat. Just in case, he brought food and flowers with him as a peace offering to Riza, and some spare alchemy books to appease Edward.

He found her door easily enough, taking off his hat before knocking. By the second time his knuckles rapped on the wood, it opened, and a disgruntled looking stood Ed on the other side sneering at him. He turned and stalked off across the living room to the couch, "Riza, it's for you."

Mustang could smell tomatoes and garlic wafting through the air as he stepped inside, trying not to frown at his welcome. He heard a clatter of pots from the kitchen and a sigh before she walked into the room, and stopped. Roy grinned at the shock on her face, as well as admiring the way her plain white apron looked over her grey fitted slacks and cream-colored blouse. He had to admit she looked just as pretty being domestic as she did in uniform. "Sir? What are you doing here?" She asked, fighting down a blush.

"Riza, please, we're not in the office now are we," he said with a wide grin.

Her head tilted to the side, noticing the bag he carried as well as the standard-issue pack, "Ok, Roy, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Dinner?"

"Looks like two dinners, and a few breakfasts from here," Ed said from the worn green couch across the room. He was lazily sprawled over one of the arms, tugging on one end of an old rawhide bone as Black Hayate tugged on the other. Roy frowned more deeply, squashing the pang of jealousy he felt at watching the teenager play with the pup before turning back to Riza, "Change of plans."

"If you're taking him anywhere else, forget it."

"I out rank you, but that's not what I had in mind."

"Damnit Roy!" Hawkeye yelled as she threw the rag she cleaned her hands with at him, and stormed back into the kitchen. It bounced off the paper bag and landed at his feet. He put the pack down by the door, and hung up his hat and coat while ignoring the dark looks from Edward as he followed her, still carrying the bag of groceries. The scent of tomatoes and aromatics only intensified as he leaned against the doorway, watching as she angrily chopped into a head of lettuce. "You cannot sweet talk me into letting you watch over him. I can only imagine what would happen," she said, a quiet, disconcerting anger in her voice, "He wouldn't need assassins after him because you both would at each other throats till one of you was a cold corpse."

"You're probably right, but that wasn't my idea at all remember," Roy said, not daring to move in any further as she pointed the large chef's knife at him, "It was more along the lines of a shared responsibility . . ."

Riza's eyes widened as his meaning hit home, "Oh god, you want to move in don't you?"

He grinned, and she turned nearly white.

"Are you insane!?" she hissed through her teeth, desperately trying to keep her voice down as well as her composure, "I only have one other room, what are you going to do, sleep on the couch!? You are not using this situation as an excuse to get into my bed anytime you feel like! And do you know how suspicious this'll be to anyone watching this place?! You may out rank me, but this is my home, and I will not have you-!"

"Riza, stop, I already have a plan worked out," he said, much too calmly for her liking and still grinning.

"Does this plan involve climbing down the rain pipes?"

He frowned, and she snorted in laughter at her own joke, "No, why else do you think I showed up in civilian clothes? We need to look at this realistically, if we have a mole in Headquarters, we can't logically be seen going back and forth from there, and if something did happen, you'll need more than just your guns to fight it, so . . . after you left I worked out some things with Maes and the others. Havoc is in charge of the office work, and Hughes is covering the rest of the investigation while the three of us disappear into this little apartment for a few days, like a nice happy family."

Riza didn't buy it at all as he tried to smile sincerely, but what was she going to do about? He did out rank her, and there were certain advantages to a second bodyguard. And yet, the blonde still frowned. She turned towards the cast iron stove and the pot of simmering tomato sauce as he put the bag down on the counter, "I take it they'll be calling us then with the latest?"

"Yes, I even have Jean cooking the forms so it looks like we're heading to East City for hiding," he said before pausing, no longer smiling as he moved next to her, "I also made sure that your line was secure, just in case."

Her head whipped towards him, her mouth dropping open as she remember how many forms it took to get an order for a secure line through from the switchboards. Sometimes it still didn't stop the telephone operators from listening in. That was why she never let him call her at home. Roy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, trying to keep her from flying off the handle again, "Relax, darling, I sent Fuery over to the Central switchboard with a pile of requests. Your number is one in a thousand lines now secure, and if anything fishy happens, they'll be so flooded with paperwork afterwards that it'll take a month to sort out which line to listen to."

"I'm . . . impressed," she said as her frown turned into a smirk, "You actually made all that paperwork you avoid work for you, how ironic. If only you behaved like this every day."

Roy beamed at her with pride as she lifted the spoon from the pot to taste it, "So can I stay? Please? I'll be good, I promise, see? I got you flowers, I'll clean, I'll cook, I'll even walk the dog, and-."

Before he could promise anymore he found the sauce laden spoon being shoved into his mouth, mumbling on it as she spoke, "Fine, but . . . you have to break the sleeping arrangements to Edward over dinner, gently, or else it's the couch. More pepper?"

He nodded to her when the spoon was removed from his mouth, agreeing, "More pepper."

* * *

Riza's simple request of him now seemed monumental over the course of the meal of spaghetti, salad, and garlic toast. Neither of them talked, much, and if they did say anything to each other aside from asking for something, it came out as a snide remark or a derisive, petty argument. When they weren't blaming each other for the midday shooting fiasco, they were antagonizing each other with insults including various synonyms for short, useless, self-absorbed, and reckless, and round and round it went. If she had to put up with this for days on end, she could easily see shooting them both as a solution. No, that would kind of defeat the purpose now wouldn't it? Behavioral training immediately came to her mind as another option. If the threat of getting shot worked wonders on Hayate, it would certainly do some good on the two of them.

Her last nerve finally broke when as Roy started to clear the dishes without needing prompting, another grumbled comment coming from Ed as he retreated towards the couch again, "At least you're useful for something."

She could see Roy twitch, knowing that if he had his gloves on there would have been a nice black burn mark on her oak floors where the young alchemist was. This had to stop. Before either of them could move further, she leapt up to her feet so fast that her chair fell over backwards, and slammed her hands down on the table as it shook, "Sit!"

At first, only Hayate obeyed, as he was still eating from his dog bowl in the corner. Slowly the two males reluctantly took their seats again after glancing around nervously for her guns. It took her a moment to set her chair back up and regain her composure, looking pleasantly polite and calm despite the momentary outburst, "You're both are to stay here, work out your differences, and talk like civilized men. When I get back with coffee and my handgun, that had better be what I'm seeing."

She took the plates from Roy, and turned sharply, going into the kitchen while leaving them staring at each other. It was an uncomfortable, uneasy silence between them, like two stubborn mountain goats getting ready to butt heads. It was obvious from the start of dinner that to Roy that Edward didn't want him here, but he couldn't figure out why. Was it was just hate between them, the alchemistic rivalry, or damn, it wasn't jealousy was it? Of course not, Riza loved him. If she felt anything for the brat it was from her compassionate side, like a mother hen for the one the Elric boys had lost. There he was again, painting the two of them into parents' roles where they obviously weren't needed. It was hard not to though, as the only authority figures left in their lives. Maybe that was the root of the problem after all. He slumped into his chair, brewing on that thought as Ed blinked at him, confused and annoyed as the Flame Alchemist seemed to be backing down, "What is it?"

"You didn't by chance hear my conversation with Hawkeye while we were cooking?"

The teenage slumped back in his chair too, crossing his arms, "So what if I did?"

"Then I assume you know of my relationship with the Lieutenant then?"

Ed suddenly felt uncomfortable, his eyes shifting towards the kitchen as they heard the running water in the sink. That was one part of the conversation he hadn't wanted to know about, but he already suspected something of it earlier from Riza's admission. He wasn't blind either. In retrospect though, he was until he actually thought about the Colonel and his Lieutenant. He blushed slightly, avoiding Roy's gaze, "I get it, I just don't want to know the details."

A grin spread over Mustang's face. It was too tempting to make the brat squirm, and it would probably be educational for him too, but he couldn't. Riza would then kill him for certain. "I also assume you know that we've been trying to keep it from becoming public knowledge," he said, going back to being serious, "There are people that might use it against us."

Ed nodded, understanding him completely, given his own weaknesses in Al and Winry, "You don't have to ask, I'm not telling anyone any time soon anyway, but . . ."

"But what?"

"Well, considering it's my head these assassins are after, can you not hide anything dealing with the investigation from me, for once? I don't like being treated like a child," Ed said as he scowled again. Roy scowled back. There was no use in avoiding an argument any longer, "You are a child to me as long as you keep acting like one. If you want to be treated like an adult then earn it. That means you learn to obey and follow orders like the other adults under my command, and stop goddamn questioning every little thing I tell you to do."

"Maybe I will, once you prove you're not out for yourself! I am not blind, I am not innocent, I am not weak, and I certainly am not fucking stupid! But I must be all four, mustn't I, to be able to dumbly follow whatever you say, sir!" there was a deep-seated venom in Edward's voice, as he was practically hoping out of his chair. But it didn't move Roy at all, as he just looked back. It only took one question to unravel the kid's entire argument, "Do you think Riza is all four of those things too?"

Ed immediately grasped onto the logic and slowly sat back down, "No . . . when she does questions your orders; you actually listen to her . . . except when it comes to paperwork."

Mustang groaned, "Everyone and the fucking paperwork."

The young alchemist snickered, smiling slightly till it turned back into a frown, "But you do see my point right? I don't like being told what to do without a reason, and I don't like being treated like I can't understand anything."

"So this is what you want to know then, the logic behind the things I do?"

"Now he gets it," Ed said with a roll of his eyes, "I don't understand why I have to be kept in the dark, but still be expected to understand what needs to be done and do it."

"Because, Edward, once you do know, and do understand, then you really will be an adult. The reason I don't tell you every little thing is because you're still a boy whether you agree with it or not. You're still learning and still making choices that'll affect you the rest of your life, I . . ." Roy stopped as he put his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his folding hands, "I want you to understand and believe me when I say what I'm doing is not for my interests, but for everyone's. If I were exactly what you think I am, I'd be stepping on you on the way to the top, not saving your life."

"I can save myself thank you very much," Ed said sarcastically, ignoring the rest of what he had said, even if he heard it.

"Really now? Wanna step outside, go back to your apartments, and prove that?"

"Bastard."

"Brat."

There was another silence between them as Ed finally let Roy's words sink in before he finally asked, "Is that why everyone follows you? Because they know the real reasons behind everything?"

"It's not that simple, but yes, part of it."

"And the rest?"

"Because I don't just tell them what to do for my own benefit, and then sit back to look good like you'd think. It's because I ask them to follow my lead. That's what leading by example means."

"Really, can you lead by example in stormy weather?" Edward asked with a grin. Roy groaned as he chuckled, banging his head on the tabletop. "Everyone and the fucking useless in water bit," he muttered, "I may be a one-trick pony when it comes to alchemy, but I always have backup plans."

"And your backup plan when we got shot at was what? Giving them my head on a platter?"

"No, but I'm sure I would have thought of something involving lots of property damage."

The two of them were grinning at each other despite their animosity. Roy stopped grinning first, "So, do you think we can live in peace for at least however long this takes to solve?"

"If you expect me to not argue at all, you've got another thing coming, but . . . I'll try not to purposefully piss you off."

"No weather jokes?"

"No short jokes either."

"Deal," Roy said as he made a gesture he rarely made towards Edward. He held out his hand in front of the young alchemist. A little hesitant, the blond boy took it, "Deal."

They shook hands with all the air of a hard-fought peace agreement about it. After breaking, another silence fell over them as the noise from the kitchen stopped too. "Riza?" the Colonel called out, trying not to sound too worried.

As if on cue, the Lieutenant walked out of the kitchen with a small tray holding three mugs full of hot coffee, three bowls of chocolate ice cream, and a small, holstered handgun just in case. She grinned at them as she put the tray down. Edward immediately snagged one of the bowls, not noticing as she moved up next to him. The bowl and his spoon clattered to the table as he felt her hug him, turning bright red in a matter of moments. Likewise, Roy nearly dropped his mug of coffee in his lap at the sight, quickly setting it down on the table. A pang of jealousy went off on his heart as the kid sputtered but didn't dare push her off. Riza finally let go and walked around the table, hugging Mustang as well without so much as an explanation. Despite himself, the dark-haired man blushed too, wondering what the hell had gotten into her till she was snuggled against his neck. "You heard all that didn't you?" he asked as a lop-sided grin worked its way onto his face.

She nodded, speaking softly, "Ed isn't the only one here allowed to overhear things."

Riza hugged Mustang even tighter despite his sigh and consequential whine, "You're incorrigible."

"I'm so proud of you!"

"And you're adorable, don't ever do that again," Roy said to the beaming Lieutenant with a grin. He continued to mutter to himself as she giggled, kissing his neck. He turned his head and captured her lips with his, murmuring into each other's mouths with small moans, giggles, and chuckles. Across the table and obviously forgotten, Edward blinked, still blushing and now uncomfortable before smirking. If this was how adults in love acted, than he was obviously more mature in his relationship with Winry than either of them. "If you're both finished . . ." he said a little loudly, "I'd like to keep dinner and dessert in my stomach."

Mustang and Hawkeye broke apart as if nothing ever happened. She took her seat, sipping on her coffee as Roy muttered, "Now, FullMetal, doing that sort of thing is what being an adult is all about."

"Not listening," he muttered back into his bowl of ice cream, his ears burning red.

"Roy . . ."

"The boy deserves some education, Riza; if he didn't keep his nose stuck in an alchemy book I'm sure he would have had a little girlfriend of his own right now."

Ed gagged on a spoonful of chocolate ice cream, turning various shades of red again. If only they know. "Roy . . ." she said with a threatening edge on her voice.

Apparently it wasn't enough of a threat, "When I was his age, I had at least-."

"Roy . . ."

"So very not listening . . ."

"Oh come on, Edward, how do you think you and your brother got here? The stork?"

"Roy!" Riza yelled at him, blushing herself, "Not another word . . ."

"If you're planning on having 'that' talk, you're four years too late," Edward mumbled on the spoon hanging from his mouth, pretending to be more interested in that than the glares the Lieutenant was giving Mustang, "Who at this table was there when Elysia was born? That's probably more first-hand knowledge of exactly how babies are born than either of you have."

There was silence from the two of them as Ed went back to eating, all of them bearing similarly red faces. After a few bites of ice cream though, Roy couldn't leave well enough alone, "So I take it Maes gave you both 'that' talk?"

"More or less."

"He didn't use diagrams did he?"

Riza groaned and covered her face with her hands, her spoon clattering to the table, "No more discussions on sex at the table from either of you."

"Aw, darling, that embarrassed?"

"Hell yes, especially from ones doing the discussing. Open your mouth again on the topic, and you'll get no further into this apartment than the couch."

"What about the bathroom."

"I'm sure a cup will work."

For a moment, Roy looked stricken, his dark eyes widening in shock before turning into a pleading look. Ed chuckled, unable to contain himself any longer. At the noise, the Colonel stopped, smirking at the teenager, "Let this be your first lesson in women, FullMetal. There are only two things men are completely vulnerable to from women, a slap in the face, and threats of sleeping on the couch."

"At least she doesn't have a doghouse to put you up in."

"If he keeps it up, think you can transmute me one?"

"With pleasure."

Mustang glared at them both, muttering as he raised his cup of coffee, "Everyone and fucking mutiny."

* * *

Edward was on his back in the middle of the night in an uncomfortable bed staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Only moments ago had the rhythmic thumping of wood hitting plaster stopped, and he was eternally grateful. And yet, he still couldn't sleep. It wasn't the thought of Roy and Riza doing 'that' in her bedroom just across the short hallway, it was all the memories it brought up about his own significant other. He sighed as her name drifted through his mind, then turned over towards the door, the blankets shifting downwards, "Winry."

After the meal, the two adults and he had set out some ground rules for the length of their stay. Ed wasn't allowed to leave the building without one of them, and any trips outside, unless for shopping or prearranged, had to be within shouting distance of the building. Each now had their own chores too, and one meal they were responsible for. Also, no one was to answer the phone or the door except for Hawkeye, for obvious reasons. Aside from all that, the hardest thing he had to agree to was no alchemy and no fighting inside the apartment. There went his hopes of a rematch after the re-examination. No matter what Mustang said, he still won in the end. There was also one bit of disappointing news. Because of the hits against him, Ed's leave to Rizembool was canceled. That hurt deeply. How was he ever going to explain it to Winry without her hitting him with every wrench she had, or worse, dissolving into tears.

He missed her a lot, a feeling that only grew the longer he stayed in that bed brewing over it. If he could just hear her voice once, maybe it would ease him enough to let him sleep. It was then that a thought occurred to him. They hadn't forbidden him from calling out, even long distance. Edward crawled out of bed wearing nothing but his boxers, rubbing his eyes a little. One good thing about the Lieutenant's apartment was the excellent heating from the iron radiators in each room that kept the place at a comfortable temperature even in winter.

Slowly, he opened the door to his room and padded down the small hallway, coming into the living room. It was dark, but the moonlight off the snow washed the whole floor in deep blue light so he didn't bother with any of the lamps. He found the telephone on the large wooden desk with a roll-top that rested against the wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. After plopping himself down in the rolling chair before it, Edward stared at the iron handle resting on top of the wooden box. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Knowing Winry, she'd be in bed at this time of the night, and when she slept, she didn't like to be disturbed for anything except him. In the darkness, he blushed, remembering some of those night time disturbances he'd caused her. Or maybe she was using that toy of hers again to relieve some of the ache of missing him. That was probably an option he should have considered instead of the phone, but . . . Edward groaned, hitting his head on the desk, "Winry won't mind if I call her, right? I rarely call her as it is, she'll be happy . . . right?"

There was only one way to find out. He picked up the telephone from its cradle and started turning the rotary with the number he had memorized as the Rockbells. He could hear it ringing on the other end, each one making his chest tighten till there was a click and the muffled sound of someone juggling the receiver. "Rockbell Automail of Rizembool, who the hell is this?" asked a sleepy but sweet sounding voice.

"Winry?"

"Edward?!" she asked loudly, sounding wide awake now, "What-? Why in the blazes are you calling this late at night?! . . . If you broke that damned automail again, I swear I'll come to Central and shove it right down your-!"

He chuckled and she stopped at the sound, letting him laugh till she asked, "This isn't about your automail is it?"

"Naw, it isn't."

"It isn't about you coming from Central in the middle of the night either, is it?"

"Nope."

". . . It isn't like you to make purely social calls . . ." she said, which was the obvious truth, a hint of worry growing on her voice, "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah . . ."

"And you won't tell me about?"

"I can't, not yet anyway . . ."

"You miss me, don't you?" she asked, sounding completely innocent. Edward groaned and flopped back in the chair, turning around in it as he stared up at the ceiling. "Badly," he admitted, "This 'thing' is making me give up leave, at least until it's over."

"Edward . . ."

"I know, I know, I'm disappointed too, I wanted to see you so much, and . . ."

"I understand, so you'll probably be here after midwinter. It's alright. Granny said she thought you might be kept busy, so we didn't really plan any special. Though, I wish I could visit you."

Ed tried not to cringe, knowing how much trouble that would be if she did visit him right then and there, "I wish you could too, but it isn't possible right now."

"You're in danger, aren't you?"

"When am I not in some form of danger?"

"I wish you never signed up in the first place . . ."

"And then where would I be? Who would I be? Would you still love me if I was a useless nobody?"

"Damnit, Ed, it's too late to fight about this, and you already know my answer, don't you?"

He sighed, trying not to get choked up. She was right as he did know what she would say, that it didn't matter what he was or became so long as he didn't stop being himself. The mechanic girl was also right in that it was too late to fight over this, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be . . . can you at least tell me where you are?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was in some other woman's apartment?" he asked rhetorically, grinning to himself. There was a gasp on the other end of the line. It was followed by Winry's shouting, "Edward! You two-timing, rat-fink! If you are-! Argh! I don't believe you!"

He laughed, trying to keep it down, "Relax, she's just a friend, you know her anyway."

"Miss-?"

"Yeah, her," he said, cutting her off before she could say 'Hawkeye', "And she's not the only one here."

"Colonel Bastard is there too, isn't he?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Are they? You know, 'together'?" she asked, sounding extremely curious suddenly. Ed chuckled. After what he heard, it was hard to deny, "Yeah, but they're keeping it under wraps, or are at least trying to. It's probably the worst kept secret in all of Central."

"You poor boy, no wonder you called me," Winry said with a small laugh, the teasing yet seductive lilt on her voice making him shift in the chair, "Were they that loud to keep you up?"

He groaned, not wanting to think about it, "You're evil, but if you're that curious, yes, they were, but it wasn't the only thing bothering me."

"Pity, but I suppose it is better if I'm the cause. I like thinking that you called because you were lonely and horny over me."

"Well, I'm definitely lonely, and you're pushing the latter."

She laughed, and he could hear her moving around on the other side. In the pause, he folded his legs up in the chair, swiveling around the face away from the desk. "I didn't wake you up did I?" Ed asked.

"Huh? No, I was up late working on a little girl's set of automail, she . . . had some sort of degenerative disease, no strength in her limbs, so instead of letting her waste away in a chair her parents want her to get the operations."

Ed winched at the sound, the first time he'd heard of it being used to that extent, "That doesn't sound like a wise idea, how young is she?"

"Eleven, but she's strong, and just as willful at you."

"Don't you feel bad though? She'll be in a lot of pain."

"You handled it well, you still handle it well. But then again, that's what I'm also there for during the installation, to ease the pain, so . . . I want to do this," she said before sighing almost wistfully, "Besides, they're great pieces, and so cute! I anodized the metal so that it's bubblegum pink with a rainbow polarized finish especially for her, and colored the nails by hand, and-!"

Edward chuckled as he pictured it, "Next time can I get mine colored black?"

"Oh, you and black, do you know how washed out it makes you look to wear all black? The red coat is an improvement, but . . ."

"Would I look better in maroon?" he asked grinning, and she groaned. They both laughed, coming down slowly. After a long moment, an idea sprung up in Edward's mind, one that made him blush, "So, what are you wearing?"

"What am I wearing? What kind of question is that?"

"Humor me."

"Two alchemy-freaks walk into a bar-."

"Winry!"

"You asked for me to humor you! Alright, fine . . . I'm wearing that thin, white silk nightgown you like, the one I've had to sew the straps back onto about five times now."

"You're working on automail in your nightgown? . . . What's under it?"

"Edward!" she yelled at him, and he could just picture the pink blush creeping along her face as there was a long pause, ". . . The blue and white striped pair, if you really must know you pervert, and I'm sitting on the kitchen counter by the phone with my hair tied up with the bandana."

"You and that bandana, you always wear it when you work, even when it's late at night."

"Yes well, I'll be up all night now if we keep talking."

". . . Want me to go?"

"No, never," she said wistfully, and it made him smile, at least until she asked the inevitable, "What are you wearing."

"Nothing but my black boxers."

"You and black . . . but I do like that pair."

"I know, you didn't rip these like you did the light blue pair."

"Sorry about that . . ."

"Are you kidding? The first time we ever did it, and you ripped my underwear off . . . I kind of liked it," He said, blushing as he squirmed in the chair at the memory. Maybe that was admitting too much. Winry's voice had stopped too till she finally said softly, "I wish you were here for a repeat performance."

He groaned, "So do I."

There was another long pause between them, "Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me again tomorrow like this?"

"I will . . . I love you."

"I know . . . I love you too."

"I'll try to see you as soon as I can."

"I know you will, give my regards to Al."

"I will."

"Oh, and Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, wear the red pair for me?"

He blushed all the way to crimson, more so from the tone of her voice than from her request, "I'll try . . . but you have to wear black, the lacy ones."

She giggled, "Alright, you black-loving freak, I will. Good night, Edward."

"Did I mention I love you?"

"Hundreds of times over, I love you too, now go to bed."

"Good night, Winry."

"Sweet dreams."

Before he could repeat the sentiments, she hung up and he sighed. Slowly, he put the phone back as well, looking back up at another unfamiliar ceiling. This time, he didn't mind it as much, grinning as the sound of her voice bounced off the walls of his mind. He couldn't wait to see her again and hear that voice in person, couldn't wait to touch her. Sleep tonight wouldn't be easy in coming, but as Edward practically sprang out of the chair and padded bare-foot back down the hallway with a slight clunk in his step, it didn't matter so much anymore. As he reached his door, he paused and turned back towards the one across from it, where he knew the Colonel was sleeping with the Lieutenant. Maybe it was just his curiosity or the fact that Roy had goaded him earlier about 'that' talk that made him nosy. He felt more mature than either of them when it came to love, a fact he had to prove at least to himself that he was growing up. Slowly he opened the door to the bedroom, and just looked.

All he could really see was Riza's naked back and her head buried against Mustang's neck and chest, his arms lazily draped over her. The twisted white sheets and dark blanket thankfully covered the rest. They looked peaceful, and content if the smile on Roy's face was any indication. Slowly, Ed closed the door as he was satisfied, and shuffled back into his room. Maybe it wasn't a matter of maturity when it came to love, he realized, but a matter of power. If he and the Colonel were any indications, it could turn the greatest men into fools or give the unworthy a purpose in life. He thought back to the letter he'd given Pinako, wondering back to those words he meant only for Winry and the realization that spawned them. His priority may have been to his brother, but his heart was hers and always would be. Love really did give the unworthy a purpose in life, even if it made him question his even more.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 4, Must Love Dogs. 


	4. Must Love Dogs

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 4 – Must Love Dogs

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Everything about the past day and a half seemed like a dream as Riza tried to roll over in her sleepy pre-morning haze, only to be stopped by an arm clinging to her waist. As she tried to move it, it only gripped her more tightly, pulling her backwards till she felt a flat, muscular chest press back against hers. Slowly, as the fog in her head cleared, she opened her eyes to see Roy's bare neck right before her. She blushed, all of yesterday and the night before that coming back to her. So this was real, the three of them stuck in her apartment till the assassins that tried to kill the young alchemist were captured or dead. It wasn't exactly an ideal circumstance to prompt communal living, but when in desperate times . . . and there were certain benefits with the deficits, waking up with the Colonel next to her being one of them.

She grinned to herself as he halfway rolled onto her, using her body like a giant pillow. He always cuddled like this whenever he slept over the whole night, and she secretly loved it. Riza was of the firm opinion that despite himself, he was still a kid sometimes, ironic given his treatment of FullMetal. Speaking of which, she needed to shower and get dressed before their guest woke up, and so did Roy. Edward was scarred for life enough as it was. She tried to remove herself from his arms, but he stubbornly clung to her, murmuring enough that she knew he'd be waking up any moment. And awaken he did as his lips were on hers, pressing her back down into the pillows. He was always a lazy kisser in the morning, their mouths just touching each other without any of the fire she was used to from him. He also made love slower in the morning too. It figured since he was always lazy except at night. Roy pulled away as she was pinned under him totally, the rest of their bodies tangles in the sheet. He didn't miss a beat, kissing her cheek and down her neck before she could protest, murmuring into her skin, "Good morning."

"God, Roy . . ." she moaned with as much annoyance as pleasure when his hands slid up her back and around to her chest, "Do we have to do this now? I know you like it better in the morning, but we have a fifteen year old sleeping right across the hall this time."

"Then don't scream."

"I don't scream," Riza protested, trying to push him off by the shoulders. She could feel him grin as his lips descended over her breasts, groping an orb in one hand as he kissed the peak of the other. Sagging back into the pillows, her resistance was undone as she said weakly, "I don't scream."

"You do too, darling, and I'll prove it to you," Roy said before capturing a nipple with his teeth, lashing it with his tongue as she whimpered. The argument was lost as she squirmed under him, partially humiliated that he could get her worked up this easily. Despite herself, Riza moaned, her hips thrusting upwards to bump against his body. He pressed back, keeping her pinned to the bed as he slid down further, kissing her stomach. Her legs tightened closed as she knew where that mouth of his was heading. She should have known he would do this, as she grabbed his black hair to pull him away. In the months they'd been together thus far, he knew her body better than she did, more than living up to his gift to women-kind status, at least when it came to matters of intimacy. If he did what she knew was coming, then she would indeed scream loud enough to wake the whole building, and not just her little apartment. She yanked on his scalp to stop him and Roy twisted her wrists to pin her down, the pain slight, mostly from her own struggling. She gasped, and squirmed harder, "Roy, you don't have to prove this, I concede, I do scream, now stop fooling around before Ed wakes up."

"No fooling around, got it, right to business."

She groaned, trying yet again to break free. His nose didn't move from being buried in the blond nest of fine curls covering her mound, the pink flesh underneath already hot and wet. He was beyond listening to whatever else she said, transfixed as she tried to pull away even if it drove her hips up. Out of all the blondes he's dated, Riza was about the only one he could confirm as a natural blonde, the paleness of the hair covering her stimulating as he wedged her legs open. She resisted, weakly, and then collapsed entirely when he kissed the inside of her thigh, nipping the skin with his teeth. As she felt his mouth move closer, she silently swore retribution. Someway, somehow he would pay. She wasn't the only one out of the two of them who could scream when driven. Her thoughts were cut off as his tongue flicked closer to her folds, his head turned as his cheek nuzzled her. "Did I ever tell you you're pretty?" he purred, a very cat-like glimmer to his dark eyes as he rubbed his face against her.

Riza bit her lip to keep from moaning, her whole body pink, "Yes, but-."

He never meant down there before. She would have said that to him, if he didn't choose that moment to lick. Her voice gasped instead, jumping in her throat. His hands let go of her wrists, curling over her hips and diving between her legs to hold her open. Roy's mouth moved quickly between long, drawn out licks, diving into her as she tried to hold back. She didn't know what was worse, the slow torture of his mouth or trying to contain it. Fire burned under her skin, consuming her nerves inch by inch as she shivered. The heat was in dire contrast to the cold morning air, her pale skin raised in goose-bumps while she moaned. Oh, did she hate him for this. He always had to prove her wrong when it came to the bedroom, and not just the office. Stubborn, manipulative man didn't even notice that sometimes she got her own way when it came to their brand of fighting. He never complained when she actually won either.

As he flicked the very tip of his tongue over her clit, Riza found little use in resisting. He wasn't stopping and he was trying his hardest to make her scream as his lips latched onto the engorged bud and sucked. She might as well enjoy it. Giving in, she grabbed one of the pillows still on the bed and screamed into it to relieve some of the tension strumming through her. The noise only seemed to prompt Mustang to move faster, his mouth covering her entirely to suck. She writhed, her hips pushing up to feel more of it but his arms held her down. His tongue lapped at her again and her breath came in pants, her moan on each one sounding strangled into the pillow. Her hands tightly gripped the sheets and the pillow as it finally snapped, release rolling over her with a screech before it was muffled under cotton and feathers as well. Roy held her close, drinking in the flood while grinning to himself. He did tell her that she screamed. Not his fault if the whole building knew now.

Winning was the last thing on her mind as she moaned, her body slowly unwinding as he crawled up beside her again. She murmured his name as he kissed her neck, throwing the pillow away as he pulled her closer to him. Pressed together, Riza could feel his hardness trapped between them, poking her abdomen as he groaned. She kissed his throat in return then strained to up to his lips, yet he moved away, rising above her to sit on the back of his legs. He was still grinning as he started to move from the bed, "Point's made, you do scream, darling, but you obviously don't need me anymore, so now it's time to shower."

She pounced on Roy before he could get very far, the springs under them squeaking with a whine as she pushed him back down, "Not so fast, don't start things you don't intend to finish, sir."

"Ack, there's that title-," she silenced him with a kiss before he could finish scolding her, moving on top of him. He twitched as she hovered just over him, her nails scratching down his chest and stomach before reaching between his legs. His lips broke away from hers with a hiss as her fingers dragged along his length. She was being delicate with him, too delicate, the touch making his skin crawl with flushed heat. His hips tried to push up towards hers, the tip brushing against her center. She wasn't this teasing last night, but then again, he didn't give her a chance to tease. He groaned, lying there, harder than a rock, and steaming with heat that begged to be quenched inside of her. Just when Roy couldn't take it anymore, Riza gripped him firmly as he cried out. Damn her, she knew him better than himself as it took all his control to keep from coming right then and there, the stroke of her hand making him arch off the bed. His breath came in gulps of air, his voice barely there, "Riza . . . ."

She kissed him, her hips sinking down as he pushed up. Being buried inside of her felt better than anything else he knew, better than the rush of his alchemistic fire, better than a lazy day. The only thing that came close to comparing and exceeding it was kissing her. When Riza bent down to kiss him again, his arms trapped her there, determined to touch her everywhere he could reach. Her hips rolled and Roy's dark eyes shut tightly, concentrating on keeping up with the rhythm she commanded from him.

Whenever she was on top she always went slow, knowing it annoyed and teased the hell out of him. It was different from his early morning routine of making love to her slowly, because eventually he did go fast. But this, this was agonizingly slow. It made him work harder to remain in check, too damned sensitive to her touch after years of practice for his own good. She growled into his lips as he groped her ass, trying to drive her to be quicker, and was unsuccessful at that. And yet, the blonde gave in as he pushed up into her forcefully, needy. She pushed back just as much, determined not to let him win again in their make-believe little struggle. Her voice cried out on each thrust and roll while he tried to silence her, kissing her with almost bruising passionate force. They just needed a little longer . . .

But then there was a knock on the door, followed by Hayate's barking.

"No!" Roy howled in anger as Riza collapsed at the sound, groaning, "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"I'll shoot him . . ." she muttered, about to move off of the dark-haired man when he flipped them over. There was another louder banging on the door, more insistent while she remained pinned under him. Her ardor had just about evaporated, turned into frustrated anger as he moved within her still, "Roy! We don't have time-!"

He growled back, kissing her rather violently instead of lodging a verbal answer to her complaint. The knocking on the door continued unabated along with the squeak of the springs only sped up. Riza thrashed under him, her nails digging into his back with a moan she quieted in his neck. He whispered into her ear as he bent over her, intent evident in his voice, "I only need sixty seconds."

"Sixty?! Is that all I mean to you?!"

"Darling, you're coming with me," he said with a grin before she bit his neck at the sudden deep thrust. Roy pushed into her hard again, and she nearly screamed in her undoing. Suddenly, she believed just one minute of her undivided attention would be enough.

* * *

This was really very annoying. After last night, you'd think the two adults would have better things to do. What did they think this was? Their honeymoon? Ed pounded on the door furiously, the pup beside him equally put out as he barked. It was their fault for waking the little guy from his puppy bed that had been moved into the guest room. The fast rhythmic sound within stopped, and he felt a lot better, almost. At least that was the only sound he heard. Last thing his fragile mind needed was vocal proof of what they were doing. There was mild cursing and the sound of movement on the floor from the other side of the door before it opened, a disheveled Riza in a light blue robe glaring at him as he glared back. "FullMetal, there had better be a very good-," she started to say, but stopped as she heard a second knocking on a far away door.

"That."

With a frustrated growl, she pushed past him and went for the front door, leaving the teenager to glare at a brooding Colonel Mustang wrapped up heavily under a dark robe and many layers of bedding instead. "Not one word . . ." Roy said threateningly as Edward grinned.

"Trust me, this is too embarrassing for the both of us to recant, ever, but I guess it does prove you really are a minute man."

A pillow flew at the young alchemist's face before he could even blink; striking him upside the head and knocking him over, "Get out, brat!"

Roaring in rage, Ed got up and threw the pillow back at Roy, but the door slammed shut before it could connect, falling back onto his head. He groaned under the fluff of feathers and cotton till Hayate pulled it off of his face with a growl, still muttering to no one but himself, "I hate mornings."

* * *

Ignoring the sounds of fighting from the hallway in her wake, Riza marched towards the front door, her handgun held behind her back just in case. Whoever it was, they knocked loud enough to wake the dead, but then again her bed creaked just as much. Cautiously, she peered through the small hole in the door, and groaned to herself, "God, not her, not this early."

Quickly, Riza put the gun down on a nearby table, and tried to flatten her unruly hair before it raised too many questions. She then opened all the latches, followed by the door itself just as another knock sounded on the wood. There was a start from the old woman on the other side, before she smiled sweetly. The Lieutenant smiled back, as best as she could while being annoyed as hell, "Mrs. Greagor, good morning, you're early . . ."

"Ah, yes, good morning, dear, I hope I'm not disturbing you?" the old woman asked. It took all of her mental effort to keep from screaming at the irony of that question. Instead, Riza did the next logical thing, lied her ass off with a smile on her face, "No, of course not."

"Yes, well, my train is leaving earlier that I thought, so . . ." Mrs. Greagor said as she started rooting around in her handbag, taking a long time till she fished out a pair of keys, "Ah, here you go."

Her smile was still in place as she gracious accepted them, "Thank you, I'll make sure to take good care of the place."

"You're such a nice girl, Miss Hawkeye, and to be living so alone is a crime. Why don't you let me fix you up with one of my relatives?"

"That is kind of you, Mrs. Greagor, but it isn't necessary, really."

"Oh, but I insist, let me talk to some of them, please?" she asked so sweetly, and yet so familiarly too, the pleading look in her eyes bordering on caricature. She couldn't tell who the old woman reminded her of more: Roy, or her dog. Why was she was stuck living next to this woman anyway? Was it the rent control in Central, or her own self-torturous ways for not moving out sooner? Maybe she'd get lucky and the woman wouldn't find someone to set her up with, and the whole matter could be avoided. And yet, Riza doubted that would end the old woman's arranging completely. Nope, the delay tactic was best. "Perhaps we should discuss this after your trip Mrs. Greagor, you're going to be late."

"Ah, right, right, take care, dear, and watch out for that shady fellow."

"I will, good bye."

"Good bye."

Slowly, she closed the door again and locked it before banging her head against the surface. What had she just gotten herself in to? Grumbling despite being a morning person, she dropped the keys next to her gun, and walked towards the hallway, stopping to pet Black Hayate as he sat outside her door. Roy emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but towels and grinning. Normally, the sight would have cheered her right up, but at that moment it would have taken a lot more than just him half-naked to raise her spirits. The Colonel frowned as well, walking up next to her, "Something wrong?"

"Nosy neighbors."

"See, darling, this is why I own a house, no neighbors living close by to snoop on you, you should consider it, I have quite a few rooms . . ."

"Roy, no," she said, not in the mood for this discussion right now, "Where's Ed?"

"Back in bed, the lazy brat . . . say we could go back to bed too?"

That was a tempting offer if she ever heard one, but, "No."

His mouth dropped open, moving up and down in surprise at being rejected. Riza took that advantage to kiss him, quickly, in one heated moment as her hands held either side of his face. Roy was too stunned to resist or to grasp the upper hand and kiss her back, blinking when she pulled away. A beautiful smile danced across her lips and his heart jumped up, making him smile too, at least until she spoke, "I hate you . . . at least until you make me some coffee."

His mouth dropped open again as his dark eyes were big with horror till she giggled. Theatrics finished, Mustang frowned, "Remind me why I love you again?"

"Because I let you push me around, and I look good with a gun?" she answered with a grin as he snorted, "Roy, get dressed, and start breakfast."

"I out rank you, Lieutenant . . ."

"I'll be much more agreeable to you pulling rank with coffee in me."

"Insubordination!"

"Sir . . ."

"Right, coffee . . ." he muttered, kissing her quickly again before he disappeared into the bedroom. Riza sighed somewhat annoyed but still happily, smiling as she went into the bathroom, her puppy springing up to follow her. At this rate, she figured she'd have both of the men trained as well as Hayate by the end of the week. "You know," she mused to herself, "This isn't so bad after all."

* * *

It took the smell of bacon to coax Edward back out of sleep after his earlier interruption. Once the smell of it moved throughout the small apartment, he was dressed in record time and out of his room, practically salivating. It was odd seeing all of them in normal clothes, the strangest seeing the Lieutenant in a skirt, again. She wore a light blue sweater that was high and tight around her neck, a dark pair of laced boots, and a long straight skirt of brown and black tweed. Mustang looked more relaxed as he sat next to her in a white dress shirt and jeans of all things, dishing out food from a worn frying pan. He almost wanted to go back and change into his normal outfit as they were close to wearing the same thing, the only difference being his white tank top instead of the shirt. It was a good thing he was more interested in the food than in clothes as he sat down without a second thought, digging in. "I can't believe the Colonel cooks," he muttered, sparing his arch-nemesis a disbelieving look.

"I can't believe he can make palatable coffee either," Riza said before sighing almost wistfully over her mug. Roy grinned as he was already diving into his food. "The joys of military life: conflict with the elements, each other, and lousy cooks," he said between bites of scrambled eggs, "It forces adaptation to survive."

"Including cooking skills, sir?"

"Yeah, if only because I was never interested in finding out the mystery in mystery meat," Roy said, turning a pale shade of green, even if he didn't stop eating. Ed chuckled, and Riza groaned, dropping her fork. It was only the first day, and she could tell this wasn't going to be a quiet week. But at least they had migrated from fighting to turning into comedians, something less annoying and more bearable. After the jokes had stopped and breakfast was cleared away, the two of them finally seemed sensible enough to talk to, "One of us needs to check in with the office, and Hayate needs a walk, even if he can practically walk himself . . ."

Roy was already up and moving for the leash and his black coat before she could request it. A small smile tugged onto her lips, grateful. Ed was up too, following him. Despite being the target, and hating the Colonel, if he didn't get outside today, he'd go crazy, "I'm going too."

"But-," she started to protest till Mustang caught her in a sudden hug. Riza blushed, growing annoyed at that effect he had on her. He grinned and kissed her cheek, "Relax, I got the brat covered. Even prisoners get time outside remember, just set up for work when we get back, I have a feeling this is going to be a long series of phone calls."

"Yes, sir."

"Riza . . ."

"Have a fun time, Roy, and try not to play in the snow?" she said with a grin as she moved out from his arms to disappear into the kitchen. He grinned back, even if she was gone, turning back towards the door to see the young alchemist and the puppy practically jumping up and down to be let outside. Maybe he needed leashes for both of them.

* * *

Once they were out in the cold winter air, the boundless energy the pair seemed to have stopped, much to Roy's relief. Edward's mouth had stopped, too probably because he was too busy chattering his teeth to spare on insults. That was also to his relief. It was much too nice of a lazy day to spend it throwing arguments back and forth with the brat. They walked around the block surrounding the Lieutenant's apartment, stopping only when the puppy paused to sniff at various things. Both of the alchemists kept scanning the rooftops of the building the longer the walk went on. Mutual paranoia, that was it, just being cautious, it wasn't like they had anything to fear, was it? There weren't that many people out that day, probably too cold and too late in the morning for random pedestrians. "You don't think we're being watched, are we?" Edward asked cautiously, his amber eyes sweeping over the people on the street, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Scared?" Mustang asked with a grin.

"Who? Me? Of course not! Just . . ." he started to say before glancing over his shoulder, "Cautious, that's all, you keep looking back too."

"Yeah, well, it's hard to transmute protection from bullets if you don't know it's coming, and it's not like your tin can brother is here for coverage either."

"Al's more than just a tin can, you bastard!"

"Keep it down, pip-squeak."

"Grrrr, I thought we agreed to no short jokes," Ed growled, his temper on a low boil, "Who you calling smaller than a grain of sand anyway?"

Roy snorted in laughter, distracted enough not to notice Black Hayate stopping to sniff at a large pile of snow, "That wasn't a short joke, it wasn't even a short insult. You really gotta give it up. One mention of your vertically challenged proportions, and you make it sound twenty times worse."

There was a tug on the leash, and Mustang stopped, turning back to see the puppy digging into the snow, "Guess he likes this spot . . . you didn't happen to grab a trash bag did you?"

"No, why?"

"Err, city ordinance 304, all pet owners must clean up after their pets, err, if they do their business on city grounds or the right of ways, including . . ."

"Ew, gross, this is why I tell Al no cats. He doesn't have to clean up after them," Ed grumbled as they ignored the puppy for the moment. Mustang smirked, curious. It was odd how the kid was dead set against animals, except, "But you seemed to like dogs? Admit it, you were playing with the little guy earlier."

"Our best friend has a dog, but she doesn't have to clean up after him on walks or change litter boxes or clean the inside of armor, and Rizembool isn't exactly the big city either, no fancy dog walking ordinances."

"You know, this discussion isn't helping our new . . ." Roy trailed off as he turned back towards Hayate, watching as the dog kicked snow back over whatever pile he had left, "Problem?"

Edward stared too, his amber eyes big in shock at the puppy as a grin twitched up the side of his face, "You know, I think I just might change my mind, if I ever get a dog, I'm leaving obedience training to Hawkeye."

To that sentiment, all Roy could do was nod. Finished, they started to walk back towards the apartment building, still alert to their surroundings. It was peaceful, almost too peaceful compared to the day before, and it was making the Flame Alchemist jumpy. His gloved hands dug into his coat pockets along with the leash. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he thought he felt eyes on him. Paranoia, again? He glanced back over his shoulder, and sure enough the red-haired woman, who was a distance away a minute ago when they rounded the block corner, was now only a few feet away. This was fishy, and yet, she seemed familiar. Deciding to take a risk, he slipped his hands out of his pockets, tugging on Edward's shoulder. The teenager stopped alright, and turned to shout at him till he noticed the woman too, who had also stopped before them. "Who are-?" Ed started to ask as the Colonel turned around as well.

"Mustang? Roy Mustang?" the woman asked, the smile on her face turning into something that was at once beautiful but . . . a little scary too. Roy's mouth dropped open in surprise, "Marguerite? What you doing here?"

"You used to call me Margie, Roy," she said before turning to look at Edward. The young alchemist swallowed hard on the lump in his throat under the gaze of her green eyes, their color like pale jade. Whoever she was, she was a knockout in a different class of beauty from the other women he knew. Only one word could come to his mind, voluptuous. Perfect white skin, flaming red curls that cascaded down her back almost to her hips, all delicate features on her faces, and curves, lots and lots of curves under the dark slim coat hugging her body. And yet, there was something dangerous about her red painted lips, and the smoky edge on her voice, "I hope you haven't been keeping too much from me."

Ed glanced over at the Colonel, who was standing very still despite the clear panic in his dark eyes. Oh, so he did know this woman, and from the way Roy gulped, he knew her too well. "Margie . . ." he started to say, the nervousness squashed from his voice, "How wonderful to see you again."

"Hummm, isn't it? Last time I remember seeing you, it wasn't that wonderful," she cooed, the dangerous smile back on her face as she moved closer to Roy, "Who's the kid?"

"Nephew of a friend, I was just visiting them for midwinter."

"I'm not a kid, lady," Ed muttered, suddenly annoyed with her as she ignored him, and was rather too close to the Colonel, "I don't know who you are, but-."

"Go back inside, Ed."

"What?!"

"You heard me, Edward, now get. I think the lady wants to have a discussion . . ." Roy threatened, sounding just a dangerous, even if it was only a slight edge on his voice, "I'll be up soon . . ."

"Fine . . ." the blonde boy muttered as he ripped the leash from Mustang's hand, stalking back towards the apartment. He didn't like this at all, as he walked in through the front door and trudged up the stairs with Hayate close behind him. There was something decidedly wrong about that woman's familiarity with the Colonel, and how he was humoring her. Something was also wrong with the way she smiled, and with her eyes, something too . . . he couldn't put a finger on it. Whatever it was, it gave him the creeps remembering it. His mind finally clinked on what that look in the woman's eyes was as he walked into the apartment. It was lust, and jealousy. That wasn't good. He blushed when Lieutenant Hawkeye looked up at him from the table, a stack of papers in front of her. The way her brown eyes narrowed on him only made the sinking feeling he had worse. "Where's the Colonel?" she asked as he cowardly looked away, crouching down to unhook the leash from Hayate.

"Ummm . . . he's still outside, talking to some woman. I think he knew her once," Ed admitted, wincing.

Riza shot up from the table to grab her coat and the rifle by the door, "Stay here."

"You're not gonna shoot him are you?"

"Who said the gun was for him?"

* * *

"You didn't call, you didn't even write when you left East City . . ." Margie said as she reached up to touch Roy's cheek, her dark gloved fingers threading into his hair. He should have seen this coming. Normally, he was a gentleman with the women he went out with before falling for Riza, but this woman, Margie, was the exception. He grabbed her wrist, gently, but firmly, extricating himself from her, "There are reasons for that, pet, probably because we broke up."

"No, we didn't break up, you just weren't there anymore," she hissed at him before the warm smile was back on her ruby lips, "But you're back now, after I found you, so it's all better."

"As much as you'd like to think that, I believe our last conversation consisted of a lot of thrown objects, and you kicking me out. It was sheer coincidence that I didn't call you a month later when I was reassigned to Central, but you know, maybe I just forgot because you never called either."

"Oh, so cold!" she squealed in the breeze, but he knew she meant his words more than the weather. And yet, she still wrapped herself around him, burying her face into his chest, "I forgive you . . ."

"How great," he muttered, not holding back anymore on the sarcastic edge. This was why he wasn't a gentleman with Margie during their tumultuous three month relationship. He could see after the first week they'd met that she was needy, clingy, and had a temper that matched the color of her hair, but that she was also drop-dead gorgeous and passionate in bed as well as smart and rich. She was a change from the pretty, kind but ultimately unchallenging women he dated before. It had been enough for him till her temper and possessiveness outweighed the benefits. Maybe there was a reason he avoided the fatally attractive ones till her. It took half a bottle of whiskey and lots of shattered glass to get the point across to her that he didn't like her anymore. And yet, with her clinging to Roy as if they were still lovers, it apparently had only cemented the end of their relationship for him not her. He pushed her away, coldly, colder than he'd ever been with a woman before, "It's over, Margie, I've moved on."

Her mouth parted in shock, her green eyes wide, "But you said . . ."

His heart turned to stone at that utterance, knowing the three words she was going to say next were a complete lie. Was she delusional too as well as a touch desperate? Either way, Roy's patience had run thin enough, "No, I never said that to you. I've only ever said that to one woman, and you are not her."

The smack across his face was instantaneous, stinging from the slap of leather, "Bastard."

Her heels clinking on the pavement were the only way he knew of her leaving, still dazed from being hit. At least it was over. Roy winced in pain, rubbing the red imprint left on his face while moving his sore jaw up and down. Why did women always hit like that? The instant they slapped a man, their hands turned into twenty tons of unstoppable force that not only rearranged every cell in the poor smuck's face, but turned their intelligence into dripping mush. Mustang walked back towards the apartment in the aftermath, frowning at the whole encounter. As soon as he looked up to see Riza hanging outside the open door in her grey longcoat, his frown deepened even further into almost a pout, "You saw all that didn't you?"

She grinned and he groaned, "She's an ex."

"I could see that," Hawkeye said with a slight smirk, moving to let him in, "Do they always hit you like that?"

"You did too, once."

"That was because you were being an idiot."

"When am I not an idiot?" he asked with a grin, knowing it was practically a rhetorical question. Riza sighed as he walked inside. She closed the door behind him, turning towards the stairs to walk up before he grabbed her hand. Roy pulled her back towards him and into his arms. She melted in the embrace, letting the jealousy she felt, and was hiding since Ed's mention of another woman, recede away. "I love you," Mustang whispered into her ear as she flushed pink from more than just the winter cold, "Don't ever doubt it."

"I won't . . ." she said with a small smile that turned into a grin, "Especially if you keep getting slapped by other women."

* * *

Day flowed into night as Riza and the Colonel sat at the dining room table, the top of which was covered in an avalanche of papers, various plates, mugs, books, writing supplies, and one large phone. Ed had been watching them work all day from his spot of the couch in between reading the books Mustang had given him, the ones on Riza's shelves, playing with Black Hayate, and chores. Never once did they argue or go back to the topic of that woman. He couldn't see why not? Something had happened. He just knew it from the hand imprint on Mustang's face. He was curious about her, but not stupid enough to ask the Colonel after it seemed like they were trying very hard to forget it happened.

He was also curious after all the phone calls to the office, but wasn't about to ask about that topic either. Both of the adults had grumpy expressions by the time the dinner plates had been cleared away. By their gloomy looks alone, he figured out as how things were going, and it wasn't good at all. It was dark despite the electric lamps around the room, the moon not up yet. Ed looked up at the sound of their voices from the table, a low murmur between them. Was something up? He couldn't tell. Roy was on the phone, again, but trying to talk to Riza as well between pauses. When he hung up, both of them looked towards FullMetal as his eyebrows arched up. The Lieutenant stood up and grabbed the set of keys she'd gotten this morning from her neighbor, walking with them in hand towards him, "Why don't you go feed the nice lady's cats? I need to have a word with the Colonel for a few."

"If this is about the assassins, I'm not going anywhere."

"To be perfectly honest, we're no further along today than we were yesterday," Roy admitted from across the room, his elbows on the table while his head rested above his folded hands, "All we have is a long list of names, and we're checking them off one by one, but . . ."

"It's not looking good is it?"

"You certainly pissed off someone, brat."

"Stop calling me that, bastard!" Ed said as he jumped up, slamming the book in his hands onto the low table in front of him, "And that's a hell of an accusation from the person sending me in to piss people off!"

"Edward!" Riza yelled at him, thrusting the keys into his metal hand, "This isn't about you! Go, now!"

"Fine! Fine! Just don't expect me back soon!" he grumbled as he stomped towards the door and went out, slamming it behind him. His heavy steps sounded down the hall in his wake, and they knew he wasn't heading for the stairs. Riza sighed in relief before turning towards Roy to glare at him, "I wish you wouldn't antagonize him."

Roy sighed and brushed a hand through his dark hair. He knew if he didn't tread carefully, it wouldn't be just the shrimp he was fighting with. The last thing he wanted was to fight with her right now. His thoughts were hung up not just on the investigation, but also on that bitch Marguerite. He shouldn't have made her pissed like that, even if it finally ended their relationship. Ending relationships that poorly wasn't his usual style. And . . . there were other reasons too. "I'm sorry," he said as he dropped his head, admitting defeat too easily, "I'll try not to."

Riza could see right through his gesture, even if she knew he meant it regardless. The Colonel never did anything easily when it came to FullMetal, but to give up picking on the kid that effortlessly? He was hiding something. She moved behind his chair from across the room, wrapping her arms over his neck. Roy sat back, letting his head fall against her shoulder with a sigh. She always did know how to comfort him when he needed it, letting his eyes close, and yet, she also knew when to question him too. "What's bothering you?" she asked, brushing her hand over his cheek, "It isn't the investigation, it's something else . . ."

"Your paranoia has been getting to me too, you know?" Roy admitted as his dark eyes slowly opened again, "Before yesterday, I have been getting weird phone calls at home; I thought they were prank calls, but now? I don't know, I got another one yesterday, when I went home to pack, but . . . seeing Margie again has got me even more paranoid."

She almost wanted to snort in laughter, but didn't for his sake, "You think she's stalking you?"

"Maybe?"

"Darling, that is paranoia talking. She slapped you. She may have before, but now it's pretty much over, isn't it? . . . You don't regret it, do you?" Riza asked tentatively, "I know she's gorgeous and everything, so . . ."

"She isn't you."

"Oh . . ." it was a very good answer, one that made the blonde over his shoulder blush and smile, knowing he meant it, "Besides, no one knows you're staying here, so it was probably just sheer coincidence."

"You're right, I'm just being paranoid, and we need to focus on this case, for Edward's sake."

Riza smiled a little brighter at the boost of confidence in his voice, kissing his cheek, "Yes, but we need leads first."

Groaning, Roy looked back at the page in front of him, "Don't remind me. All the enemies this kid has racked up are either six feet under, locked up tighter than a drum, homicidal maniacs that are wanted anyway, or missing. None of them fit the profile, the profile doesn't even fit the profile. The shootings haven't involved the use of alchemy, nothing about the Stone, no chimeras, no homunculi, all . . . bullets . . . practically medieval."

That comment earned him a punch in the shoulder from the sharpshooter, making him grunt in pain, "Ok, sorry, sheesh, but you see my point, don't you?"

"I do . . . and I don't like it, I don't like that we have a mole somewhere in Headquarters either, it could be anyone."

"I know, but at least we know it's not in our department, just wish we'd hear back from Internal Affairs."

"Me too . . ."

"We're back where we started unless Fuery, Breda, or Havoc unearths something on our suspects, you do know that?"

"I do, but I figure you have a back up plan, sir," Riza said with a grin, hugging him a little tighter, "You always have a plan."

A grin worked its way onto Roy's face. She was right about that. He did have a secondary plan, but he didn't want to rely on it yet. He didn't even want to tell her about it since it was still a half-baked idea that had too many holes in it as it was. "We'll see," he said cryptically, patting her arms, "How about dessert?"

"Hot chocolate sound good?"

"You and chocolate, nothing vanilla in this place?"

"You like it, admit it."

"I do, but it tastes even better when it's spread all over you," Roy said with a lecherous grin on his face. Riza gasped, quickly letting him go. She would have yelled at him if she didn't feel the need to leave the room, the temptation to take him up on the offer dangerous. Before she could get very far though, his arms grabbed her waist and yanked her back. She stumbled back, landing in his lap with a short shriek. There was a sinister chuckle in Mustang's voice as he leaned down to kiss her, enjoying how she struggled weakly till his lips touched hers. Riza's arms threaded around his neck, deepening the kiss as it became apparent that she wasn't going anywhere. He didn't object to it, or how she turned in his lap, rather enjoying the way her tongue darted into his mouth along with her soft murmurs. No, he was much too happy letting her do all the work, including pulling at his shirt and undoing the first buttons of the collar. And yet, that moment of happiness was shattered when an ear splitting cry tore through the hallway outside the apartment door with a giant, "Yeeeeeeoooooooowwwww!!!"

They looked at each other, stopping cold as the same thought occurred to them, "Edward."

* * *

This was too amusing, much too amusing as Roy sat in the chair across from the teenager, grinning like there was no tomorrow. "Ow!" Ed snarled as Riza tried to swipe another cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol over one of the battle wounds, "I can do this myself!"

Mustang couldn't take it anymore, chuckling with a madness he hadn't felt in a long time. In no time he was howling with laughter, getting dark looks from the brat and the Lieutenant for the ruckus he was making. She sighed, choosing to ignore him for the moment. "You're not treating yourself, FullMetal, it is bad enough you're covered in cat scratches," Riza said as she slapped another bandage onto a long but shallow scratch, "I warned you about the ginger one."

"At least the cat didn't get your tongue," Roy muttered, coming off his high of humor before howling again at his own joke. Growling in annoyance, she threw one of the used balls of cotton at the Colonel, hitting him in the forehead, "And you're not helping, so I suggest you quit it."

"I out rank you, Lieutenant, but you have to admit, this is damned funny."

"Roy . . . do you really want the couch tonight?"

". . . Ok, I'll stop, but this'll give me enough material for a month," he grumbled as Ed's eyes narrowed on him, "Don't make that face, kid, it might stick like that."

"Whatever you say, minute man."

Roy sputtered, turning bright red while Riza's mouth dropped in shock, "Deal's off, shrimp!"

"Who are you calling a shrimp who's no bigger than an ant?!"

The two of them glared at each other till Riza collapsed into her chair in a bout of laughter so strong that tears to stream down her face. As she tried to calm down, a single look at either of the males made her crack up even more, having to cover her mouth to keep from shrieking in mirth. It was so bad that she could barely talk, frantically pointing towards the bedrooms with a simple, "Go."

"I think you broke her," Roy muttered, unable to help but grin at his lover's complete collapse into hysterics. Ed didn't answer, snorting instead as he left for his bed room, Black Hayate right behind him. Once they were gone, Riza finally calmed down, shaking her head as she giggled to herself. It was amazing, simply amazing as she sat there in wonder. If the two of them could put aside their differences then maybe they'd see how much alike they were, like opposite sides of a coin, like father and son. At that last analogy, she sighed, knowing that would just about never, ever happen. The best she could do for now was to put up with the two alchemists and their stay, which was looking to be anything but quiet or restful.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 5, Flirting With Disaster. 


	5. Flirting With Disaster

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 5 – Flirting With Disaster

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Edward was thankful that the pair of adults had gone to sleep early that night without the further noise of squeaky beds. The last thing he wanted was to be caught red-handed by either of them as he crept through the hallway and into the living room. There was no way he'd break his promise to her, well both of his promises, including the one about wearing specific clothing. He found the phone right where they had left it on the dining room table, and grinned to himself. Slowly, he lifted the phone and placed it on the low table before the couch, the one spot in the apartment he claimed as his own.

It was colder that night than the previous one, a draft coming in through the windows. Ed was huddled up under the off-white wool blanket he brought with him as he turned the numbers on the rotary, his knees shaking in anticipation as well as cold. Maybe he should have invested in a robe for winter nights, or actual sleep clothes, since just his red boxers weren't enough to keep him warm once he was out of bed. But then again, a pair of pajama right now would have irritated the bandages covering the cat scratches on his arm. Blasted things, this was part of why he didn't let Al keep kittens. Kittens turned into cats, and cats didn't always like him like they loved his brother.

But for Winry's sake, he could suffer a little bit of cold. He could hear the phone ring on the other end, then the crackle as the receiver was picked up. There was a low, humming moan on the other side that almost sounded like a yawn, and he knew it was her. "Edward?" Winry asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

He grinned, sinking back in the couch, "Good evening."

"You called! This deserves a celebration! Second time you've called without needing a repair!"

Ed chuckled, just imagining the look on her excited face and her smile, "We'll celebrate the next time we're together."

She giggled, and he knew she was probably blushing as she answered, "That either sounded like a proposal for a date, or something more . . . private."

Winry didn't waste any time did she? The hairs on the back of Edward's neck rose up as he shifted on the couch, slightly uncomfortable, "It depends on which one you'd like more."

"Well, we've never gone on a real date . . . and I can get the latter from you anytime I want, when you're actually here that is," she said with a giggle. Now it was his turn to blush, his ears almost burning. She knew him too well, exactly which screws to turn, where, and how tight till he was almost jittery around her sometimes. What monster had he created out of his sweet, mechanically-inclined female friend? Perhaps he should just attribute it to her ability to put him at ease as well. "Is a real date what you want?" he asked, curious.

"Well . . . what I really want is you, but I'll settle for your voice, for now," she said, sweetly, and a stupid, love-struck grin enveloped his face as she continued, "So . . . you're wearing red?"

Ed attention went right back to last night's conversation as he relaxed under the blanket, "Yes . . . are you . . . you know, wearing the black lace ones?"

". . . And nothing else."

The metal hand he was holding the phone in trembled at her answer. His mind vividly recreated the image of Winry lounging on the kitchen counter in the Rockbell house wearing nothing but a tiny pair of black lace panties and a smile. He could even imagine the black phone cord dangling over her neck and between her breasts while the receiver was pinned between her ear and shoulders. Edward groaned in blissful but painful agony, running his hand over his face as she giggled on the other end of the connection. "It's kind of cold though, wish you were here to keep me warm . . ." she cooed.

Edward Elric's mind had officially dissolved into putty in Winry's hands only to re-solidify in his crotch. She was doing this on purpose, he realized as he turned to lie down on the couch. But what was the point in purposefully getting him aroused? She was probably doing this to torture him some more with longing. It was working rather well, if that was her intent. "Please," he whined, almost begging her, "Don't make me miss you any more than I do already?"

"But the purpose of this is to relieve some of that tension you're feeling."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have that fearfully nervous edge on your voice again, you get it every time, you know . . ." Winry started to say, and he knew she was blushing, working up the courage to speak, "You get like that every time you get hard."

"I do?"

Was it that easy to tell? Suddenly he was a lot more nervous and uncomfortable. "You do," she answered, "I actually kind of like it when you act all surprised like that."

"You do?" Ed asked as a creeping sensation shot down his spine, tightening his boxers, "I'm not as innocent as you think, you know."

"Oh, I know, but you still act like it," Winry said as he heard her moving around on the other side, "And I like it. I love being able to shock you, but not really shock you, you know?"

"I think I get it . . ." he answered, still nervous, and highly turned on by the direction this was going. His metal foot tapped up and down rapidly, unable to hold still with the tension running through him. He was almost sure he heard a moan on the other end of the line. Edward gulped, a sweat breaking out across his forehead, "Winry . . . what are you doing?"

"You know those panties you liked?'

"Yes . . ."

"I'm rubbing myself through them."

Ed's hair stood on end at her revelation, stunned into complete silence as her moaning continued. The breath he'd been holding came out in a shuddering groan, instantly going from just aroused to rock hard in a rush of blood. Unconsciously, he touched himself through his boxers, intent on listening to her voice as she enjoyed herself. And yet, he felt the need to say something, anything, but what was he going to say? Tell her to stop? Every part of him but the logical part of his mind screamed at him with a resounding no to that idea. But to continue would be to seal his fate of nights on end of craving for her; like his life wasn't suffering from enough bouts of self-torture already. Winry didn't seem to mind that he'd long since stopped talking to her, her voice only picking up along with the noise of the phone shaking. Ed couldn't handle being silent anymore, the sound of her pleasuring herself picking his response for him. "Winry . . ." he groaned into the phone as his hand dug into his boxers to grasp himself, "If I didn't love you, I could kill you right now."

"You're touching yourself too, aren't you?" she asked before her voice broke off with another moan, "You better be. I don't want to be the only person having any fun."

He chuckled hoarsely, not stopping as he answered her, "Did I ever tell you that I kind of like it when you tease the hell out of me, even if I act like I hate it?"

"I knew it," she said before gasping, "I like teasing you too . . . have you ever done this before?"

"What kind of question is that?!" he said, a little too loudly, but unable to stop it as he slowly slipped beyond reason, "No! Of course-well, maybe, if you mean- I mean, gah, don't make me think right now."

"I like making you think hard though, and I meant, you know, touching yourself."

"Yes . . ." he hissed softly, squirming on the couch with a shudder as his hand moved a little faster, "And we both know you do."

"You know, I really liked it that one time," she started to say softly before another higher pitched moan hit, "When I tied you up and touched myself on top of you."

"How could I forget," he breathed, remembering it well, the memory adding more fuel to his burning desire, "The toy was doing most of the touching though."

"You loved it, you still love it," Winry accused him as a moan punctuated the statement, "I still wish that it was you inside me, and not my fingers."

He felt exactly the same way, groaning into the phone, "You are horrible, terrible, scandalous, conniving, tempting, gorgeous, and wonderful, and I-."

Winry moaned again into the phone, cutting off the rest of his little tirade. She was obviously beyond talking. Edward gave up and shut his eyes, just imagining where her fingers were. He could just picture her in his head sitting on that counter, writhing against the wall, struggling to hold onto the phone as her hands moved between her legs. His own hand moved faster as he shuddered, giving in to the little fantasy image of her in his head. He loved her and hated her for doing this to him, hated his whole entire situation for giving up leave, and really, really wished he'd called her like this months ago. She cried his name into the phone and that was it as he joined her with a less noisy cry of his own.

There was something wonderful about the sounds she made whenever she came back down, the breathless little gasps, the soft moans. When normally he would have been concentrating on his own release, the young alchemist tried to stay as quiet as possible, even through the surge of tension snapping all over her body, and the spill of seed into his underwear. He just wanted to hear her, waiting till she gave one final exhausted moan before sagging back onto the couch with a groan of his own. Eventually, he heard Winry murmur and he grinned, knowing she was giving one of those cat-like stretches of hers. "Still there?" he asking, obviously knowing she was.

She gave an approving purr, and he chuckled, "Happy now? You just made me have to do more laundry."

Of course she giggled before it turned into a low, satisfied hum, "Was it good for you too?"

Ed groaned, knowing she would ask that, "Yes, if you must know, it was torturously good to the point of making want to pack right away, and take a midnight train to Rizembool."

"You're still cooped up?"

"Yeah . . . if my head wasn't on the line and if practically the whole department wasn't looking out for me, I'd be on a train right now, but . . ." he said with a sigh. There was a quiet murmur on the other side of the line, and he knew he was making her worry again. Damnit! Why did he always do that to her?! It was bad enough making her worry, but making her worry about his death was unforgivable, to him at least. "I'm sorry," he said quickly before her fears could escalate, his voice cracking a little, "I'm safe, and relatively happy, I'm even better now that I'm talking to you."

"Maybe . . . I should try to visit? I really want to see you, please? Please tell me it's not that hard?" she asked, her voice small, "I mean, not all of my trips turn into disasters, and if you're going to miss the maintenance and you're in this much danger then maybe I should be there to help . . ."

Ed mouth dropped open. It was tempting to tell her yes, then let the adults sort it out once she was there, but . . . he could never put Winry in that sort of danger again. What nearly happened with the Chopper was bad enough. These were guns he was battling, and his alchemy couldn't protect her from a bullet meant for him, especially if they never saw it coming. "No," he said too quickly, his protective gut instinct kicking in, "Just don't ask this of me, I appreciate the offer, but I don't need you here."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and a sinking feeling hit him in the gut that he had said the absolutely worst thing.

"Don't need me, don't want me, or are you just being heroic again?" Winry asked with venom in her voice, trapping him with her question. She was pissed. Ed cursed to himself. And now he couldn't tell her why he was worried, could he? What was he afraid of more? Her dead like his mother, or captured in the hands of an enemy trying to get to him? The longer he sat there in silence, the more the latter seemed possible and frightening. It took one of her angry, annoyed huffs to finally prompt an answer from him. "I'm not being heroic, Winry, I'm being cautiously paranoid," he muttered, a confession slipping from his lips, "I couldn't deal with it if someone snatched you and used you to get to me. You're safe where you are, and . . . that's all I care about for now, that you're safe . . ."

She'd gone silent, her voice sad when she spoke again, "I'm sorry, I should have known after everything that's happened, it's just . . ."

"Hard, I know, don't worry about it."

There was another long silence till he heard her whine slightly. "I wish you'd at least acknowledge that I can fend for myself sometimes," Winry muttered finally, still sounding put out, "I'm not twelve anymore, or that stupid anymore, and you know I can swing a mean wrench in a pinch."

"I know, first hand," Edward deadpanned with a smirk, rubbing his head in remembrance, "But, I don't think your arsenal of wrenches is going to help if you go against these guys. Even I feel kind of useless."

"You? Useless? I thought I'd never hear you say that," she said with a giggle. Ed scowled, not liking the double meaning of her words. "If I didn't know better . . ." he started to say till her laughter cut him off.

"Of course you know better, which is why I'm the machine geek and you're the alchemy freak."

"Very cute," he said with a smirk, sounding sarcastic as hell.

"Thank you, I thought so too, even if your alchemy still freaks me out."

"I'm sorry . . ."

"It's ok, Ed, we were six, and . . . the doll was kind of cute."

"Al did help, he's better at cute."

"Humm, but you're better at making things . . . pretty."

She giggled and Ed chuckled, suddenly feeling a lot better. And yet, he was tired suddenly as he yawned into the phone, "I think it's time we went to bed."

"No! Please! Don't go? I just want to hear your voice, even for a little while longer?"

"Don't you have automail to make or something in the morning?"

"No?"

"Liar."

"It's nothing that can't wait, Ed. What are you gonna do anyway? Fight something big and nasty in the morning? This is your once in a lifetime chance to be normal and talk to a pretty and nearly naked girl on the phone, so talk."

He stopped a moment, thinking over the blonde's wisdom, and discovering she had a point. The nearly naked part also helped jumpstart his new found sense of the perverse as well. She was a bad influence on him. "Alright, so, you got me . . . I'll stay up as long as we keep talking, so . . ." Ed started to say, his mind hitting on a topic, "Did I ever tell you the Lieutenant has a puppy? This dog is so well trained that he really does walk himself."

She giggled, and it sounded beautiful despite the crackle of the phone line. Suddenly, Edward didn't mind staying up the whole night just to hear the sound of her laughter.

* * *

Jean Havoc really needed to stop smoking. At least that was what the cashier had said that morning when he bought his second carton in less than a week, along with four take-away cups of coffee. He didn't care what the young woman thought of him, even if she was pretty. He was under paid, over stressed, and absolutely riddled with paranoia. Why oh why did the Colonel have to take it upon himself to do bodyguard duty with Hawkeye when he should have been Lead Investigator? Of course, the whole office knew the first and second reasons for that, but everything else eluded them. But what mystified them all was why Maes had been in put in charge, and he himself placed as second-in-command, mostly about the latter. Hughes was brilliant at investigations like this, but . . . Havoc had to admit that he wasn't cut out for this type of job. He may have been a Second Lieutenant, but he wasn't as fast, thorough, or as sharp as the First Lieutenant. And he certainly didn't have her love of the paperwork.

That was why they seemed to get nowhere yesterday, and seemingly nowhere that morning as he entered the office, plopping his purchases down on his desk. Fuery and Breda each grabbed a cup of the freshly brewed coffee, which was better tasting than the swill any of the three of them could make. The office wasn't the same without the Colonel or Hawkeye there, but they worked on anyway, well at least with what they had, which was nothing. He decided that he might as well have attempted taking a stab at leadership, "Has Lieutenant Colonel Hughes showed up yet?"

"No," answered Kain as he looked over another case folder, bleary-eyed, "These words are starting to run together."

"Take a break, both of you," he said, looking at his friends sympathetically, "You've both been at this since the day before last. Give it a rest."

"But the Colonel, the Lieutenant, and FullMetal are depending on us," Breda moaned, rubbing his eyes despite his words. Havoc groaned, exhausted and stressed out as well. Another reason he wasn't cut out for this, no one ever took his directions seriously. "Fine, if you both insist on working, then where the hell are we?" he asked, dumping the carton in his desk drawer before lighting up another cigarette, "Scar?"

"No idea where he is, and not his modus operandi," Breda said, sounding bored, "Doubt he's ever picked up a gun."

"Huh?" Furey asked with a blink, much too early in the morning to be throwing terms like that around. Heymans sighed, explaining, "Modus operandi, MO, mode of operation. Basically, his usual habits and behaviors, which in Scars case is wanton destruction of all things alchemy related."

"Thank you, Breda. Nothing like a lesson to go with coffee at the ass-crack of dark. Moving right along . . ." Jean said as he looked over the list again, "Bald?"

"Still in lock up, no demands, and no movement from his group," Fuery said, sounding tired.

"Yoki?"

"Ex-Lieutenant Yoki is on permanent vacation in the Central State Brig for fraud, racketing, committing crimes in the name of the state, attempted bribery, dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming of an officer, and on, and on, and on. He's serving about two life sentences total. All his subordinates were dishonorably discharged, whereabouts unknown," Kain said, even more tired sounding as he looked over another report.

"Psiren?"

"No motive, not her MO, that beautiful woman is long gone," Heymans said with an exaggerated grin, holding up a photo, "But I sure like looking at her mug shots!"

"Damn that kid! He gets all the luck!" Havoc shouted, nearly chewing on the end of the smoke in his mouth, "Any of the Homunculi?"

"Missing, whereabouts unknown, gone, gone, and gone, and I doubt any of them know how to use guns either," Breda said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"And none of the shrimp's oddball cases?"

"Either missing, doesn't fit their MO, six feet under, or locked up tighter that a priest's liquor cabinet," Kain answered before taking a sip of his coffee.

"That leaves Ishbal and Lior," Havoc said softly before all three of them groaned.

"That doesn't sound like the buzz of happy workers!" announced Maes as he came through the office door carrying a large stack of more case folders. Three pairs of eyes narrowed on him, as it was obvious that he was too happy for what their case thus far was amounting to, which was a whole lot of nothing. And yet, Hughes kept on grinning even as he put the folders down on the desk that was Hawkeye's. "Sir, not to sound bitter or too curious, but . . ." Havoc started to ask, his face pinched, "Is there a reason you're so, I don't know, chipper this morning?"

"Why, Jean, it's a wonderful morning! Thanks for asking!" Maes said as his grin only got bigger, to their dismay, "New photos of Elysia came in, if any of you are curious, slept soundly next to my beautiful wife, and there was more snow last night, which just makes everything look like winter! It's just so nice out, even if it is cold! Oh . . . and did I mention a report from Internal Affairs came in?"

The pairs of eyes on him went wide in surprise, all of them barely containing their surprise at the last announcement. For a moment the grin on Hughes face flickered into impish territory, wondering how long he could keep them in suspense before they cracked. Naw, as amusing as it was to hold them in suspense, he decided that could take all day. He plucked a paper off the top of the stack, and began reading out loud, "Ahem, in regards to your concern, our investigation hasn't been forthcoming given the widespread documentation, we regret to inform you that, yadda, yadda, you want me to read the rest?"

The three subordinates groaned in frustration. The Lieutenant Colonel's good humor faded too, but he continued anyway, "The long and short of it is that it could be anyone, but that since their last screening, no one with connections to Ishbal, Lior, or known enemy factions were in the departments we contacted before the raid, so . . ."

"We're back to where we started, with just a theory," Havoc muttered as he sunk back into his chair. He really needed another smoke, as the first one of the day had burnt out already. From across the office, Maes continued to frown, but more so from his new subordinate's behavior than from the bad new in the investigation as pushed his glasses up his nose, "No, it just means we go back to the evidence. What do we know for certain from the raid?"

"During the raid on the warehouse, someone took one shot from warehouse 23 that hit our suspect in the chest, killing him. It would have hit FullMetal's head if he didn't duck. Still a nice shot," Havoc said before Breda picked up the rest of the story for him, "Moments later, a bomb put among our evidence, the cannons with the transmutation circles on them, blew up using a timer. It was set for ten that night, when the raid was supposed to start."

"Which started an hour early because the Colonel said so . . ." Kain interrupted before stopping as something occurred to him, "Why did Colonel Mustang start early?"

"Hot date probably," Havoc muttered, "With the First Lieutenant, of course."

Fuery glowered at him, "This is no time to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous, just pissed that he's going soft. Since losing that bet, he hasn't breathed one word about miniskirts!"

"But there sure has been interesting times since then," Breda said with a grin, "You're just jealous because you haven't gotten laid in months, and you know that right about now Colonel Mustang is-."

"On the phone, or will be, so would you kindly keep it to yourselves for a few," Maes cut in with a hand over the metal receiver while waiting for it to ring, "And the answer to the question was because the buyer arrived early, so . . ."

"Why did the buyer move early?" asked Kain as he blinked.

"What happened to the buyer?" Havoc asked as he started fishing through the stacks of folders and reports before Hughes tossed one towards him. Breda dove for it as it went off course, landing closer to his desk instead. Grinning in victory, he started reading the report as Jean scowled over his shoulder. Slowly, his grin started to wane, "He . . . he was found dead late last night?"

"And that, gentlemen, is where the plot thickens . . ." Maes said cryptically as he turned back to the phone and blinked, "Huh? Busy?"

* * *

Standing in the hallway while looking over at the adorable scene on the couch, Riza suddenly understood why Hughes always had a camera attached to his hand around his baby girl. She kind of wished she had one at that moment, but she wasn't about to go closet diving in her thin, light blue robe to find it. Edward was curled up on his side under an off-white blanket, his head pillowed by the arm of the couch. The phone was on the low table before him, while the black receiver was wedged between his metal arm and his mouth. She had to stifle a small giggle as he was drooling on it, which probably wasn't good for the poor phone. As much as she hated to disturb him, Roy would be waking up any moment, and would be out of the bedroom looking for her. The sight of this would have been too tempting of blackmail for him to resist. 

Slowly, she bent down and tried to lift his head, prompting a horrendous snore that made the Lieutenant stop cold. Ed gave sleepy sigh, and rolled away, letting the phone drop into her hands fast enough that she was forced to juggle it, lest she dropped it completely. She exhaled in relief once she had a handle on it, and moved to hang it up. It was then that curiosity struck her. Who exactly did FullMetal call last night? Couldn't have been his brother, Ed didn't know the Armstrong's number. Who else did he know? The only people he ever used the phone to call before were the Rockbells, and then mostly for repairs. Why would he be calling them in the middle of the night and stay up so late? It wasn't his auto mail, and it probably wasn't to hear Mrs. Pinako Rockbell's voice, which left only Winry. Winry? Why would he call her and talk all night long, unless-? The thought struck her like lightning. "Oh my . . ." Riza said softly as the pieces fit together, her mouth snapping shut before she could gasp.

Edward had fallen asleep calling Winry. She didn't have proof, but she just knew it. If Roy ever found out, she could only imagine the results. Quickly, she hung up the phone, her curiosity more than satisfied. The Lieutenant then quickly picked up the telephone, and carried it back across the room, confident that this would be just a little secret between her and the boy. And yet, that thought was shattered as the phone rang loudly in the stillness of morning.

Riza gasped in surprise, nearly dropping it. Instead, she fumbled with the telepone in her arms, clumsily placing it down on the table. Ed bolted upright on the second ring, both of them staring at each other in horror. Before the teenager could say anything, she picked up the phone, "Riza Hawkeye . . . Maes, didn't expect you this early."

From across the room, Edward's mouth moved up and down in choking silence, words escaping him in the damning realization that he was caught. He turned bright red, but the Lieutenant continued anyway, ignoring the nearly hysterical boy completely, "Yes, sorry about that, I had to make a call of my own earlier. Oh, nothing, just checking in with Major Armstrong, you know how he likes early mornings. Right. Right, um, he can't come to the phone right now, still sleeping. Yes, he'll call you back in a few. Yes, we're fine, Hughes, have a good day, bye."

Riza hung up, exhaling as she sat down in one of the dining room chairs. Ed was about to open his mouth when she stood up suddenly, and pointed back down the hallway, "Hurry, get dressed."

"But-."

"The Colonel could be awake any moment now, move."

"But-."

"He'll know something is up if you slept on the couch, so just go."

"But what about the phone call? I was . . ."

He trailed off as a sympathetic smile spread across Riza's face while walking closer towards him, "What phone call?"

"I-I called-."

"Edward, what phone call?"

"But, you saw! You moved the phone for me, you must know-!" he said, struggling to keep his voice down, and yet nearly hysterical at the same time. Riza grabbed both sides of his face as she drew closer, forcing him to look up at her. What was he expecting from her? A reprimand or that she'd tell the Colonel? "Edward, calm down, and listen to my words," she said slowly and evenly, "What phone call? I don't recall any such phone call, I don't remember seeing you sleeping on the couch at all, so . . ."

"Right . . . what phone call?" he said, trying out the statement himself before suddenly feeling sheepish with the blanket wrapped around him, "I'll . . . go get dressed then."

Riza released her hold on him, smiling down while patting the top of his unruly hair, "Good boy."

As soon as she turned away, the young alchemist was gone, his bedroom door slamming shut. The Lieutenant shook her head, walking towards the kitchen and hopefully a pot of coffee before getting dressed herself. This day was turning out like the previous one already.

* * *

Indeed, the phone call was not spoken of again that morning once they were all dressed and assembled around the table. Ed looked very relieved when he showered, then came out of his bedroom dressed in a long-sleeved, blood red shirt left open over a black tank top and black pants. He couldn't help but smile at the Lieutenant, grateful when she didn't bring it up while handing him bowls to set the table with. If Roy noticed the exchange at all when he came out of the bedroom dressed in a white shirt that he was busy stuffing down his dark slacks, he didn't mention it. No, he was too preoccupied first with kissing Riza as she stood in the kitchen wearing a cream turtleneck sweater and brown, skin-tight pants while trying to make breakfast. And then, the Colonel became too preoccupied with the telephone.

He was entirely too interested in talking to Hughes that morning, which made her wonder. She tried not to stare at Roy from over her bowl of oatmeal, but couldn't help constantly looking at him, slightly annoyed. He'd been on the phone with Maes and the office ever since she mentioned the call for him. It wasn't like him to ignore her cooking, the bowl placed before him untouched and cold by now. It was also impossible to believe that he'd ignore his cup of coffee too. But he was, talking back and forth on the phone, yet not revealing the meaning in any of it. The series of affirmative hums, murmurs, and disapproving whines were about as understandable as gibberish. This was either a break in the case, or very bad news.

Edward didn't look up from his food, even on his second bowl, but she knew he was paying attention. She only played with hers as her spoon moved in circles, her appetite gone. Her annoyance with the Colonel was quickly turning into worry till he hung up, digging into his bowl finally. And yet, he didn't mention anything to either of them about the call. "Roy . . ." the Lieutenant started to ask finally, hoping to prompt some news from him, "What was the meaning of all that?"

He stopped eating long enough to blink at her, "Nothing too much, Internal Affairs reported back."

"And?" both of them asked with a clatter of spoons. Mustang kept on eating, at least until the pair of eyes on him became too much, "No luck, none of our previous suspects panned out either, so Maes went ahead with our next lead."

"We had another lead?" Ed asking, blinking before he scowled, "You bastard, you never told us!"

"FullMetal, stop right there," Riza commanded, her eyes boring into him.

Yet, he sputtered on anyway, "But he-! He always does this! Giving us half of what we need to know."

"I'm sure he had his reasons, but I'm also sure he's going to talk right now about our lead, which is . . . what?" Riza asked, curious herself as to why Roy needed to be led through with questioning this morning when he usually gave clearer answers, "You're holding back something, aren't you."

"Have you both had enough of breakfast?" he asked as his dark brows knitted together. Now she was really worried, and with a glance over at Ed, she knew she wasn't alone. Slowly, they both nodded. Roy sighed and pushed his bowl away as he leaned back heavily in his chair, "Good, I didn't really feel like eating after that call either. The lead was our criminal buyer for those cannons, remember them? I had Maes tracking his connections to try and resolve that case, and . . ."

"And why he jumped the gun on his appearance the other night?" she asked.

Roy blinked at her, her logic jumping ahead faster than he could explain, "Clever girl. Yes, at the time I thought he was just spooked, and we also thought he died somewhere between the fire fight-slash-blood bath and the bomb, but . . ."

"There's always a 'but'," Ed commented, still interested in eating slow spoonfuls of oatmeal while listening, "Cut to the chase already."

"He surfaced yesterday morning. Investigations spotted him out and about contacting said previous connections. They tailed him to his house, and staked out the place. Then this morning . . . they found him dead."

"What? How?" Riza asked as her mouth dropped open in shock.

"How do you think?"

"The snipers . . ." Ed muttered as Roy nodded, adding in, "Shot with more holes than a termite infestation, clever too, FullMetal. You can imagine the scene. Maes read me the report, in detail."

A loud series of groans went round the table, along with the clattering of dishes being pushed away. Apparently, no one was hungry anymore. Riza frowned, crossing her arms under her chest, asking the obvious questions, "So now where does that leave us? Our lead is dead."

"But, my darling, don't you see? It gives us a connection," Roy said with a grin, "Whoever is doing this is cleaning up loose ends rather than searching for us, so . . . we figure out why the buyer moved early, and why our assassins killed him for it."

"How do you propose we do that?"

"The answer is probably just staring us in the face. You have the case folder around here, don't you?"

The Lieutenant sighed and started sifting through the stacks of papers and folders around her, forced to bend over the table to reach the last pile, "This is why I keep my desk organized, sir."

"Yell at me later, read it," he muttered as he helped her fish out one folder in particular. Sighing, Riza sat back down and started to read it, "Um, buyer, Sigmund Heinor, known radical against the State, fronts the Group for the Ethical Use of Alchemy? This doesn't sound like a violent criminal wanting those alchemy enhanced cannons we found for something bad."

"No, he's a dove. His group probably wanted to destroy them, which would have been a service to us, but we were ordered to find the alchemist responsible for making them, not to take them off the black market. So, this Heinor was just a smuck stuck in the crossfire, which is why we didn't think to look for him to see if he made it out till now."

"But then this is all highly unusual for him to be buying, or to even know about alchemy enhanced weapons."

"Yup, so someone put him up to it."

"But then why did he move early? It wouldn't make sense unless he-," Edward started to ask, cutting himself off as he realized, "Unless he found the bomb there before he made his move."

"Ah ha! The kid gets it!"

"Bite me."

"If that's right, he moved as soon as he knew about the bomb, and must have know it was all a trap for us from the beginning," Riza said, looking back at her file folder, "He was educated at the Western State University, moved to Central, applied to be a State Alchemist, but failed the exam, then turned to radicalism . . ."

"This guy was smart, but still good-natured. He probably got suckered in to this whole scheme somehow, thought he was making the world better, but then realized it was all entrapment and murder when he found the bomb. He was double-crossed," Roy explained, pointing at the folder, "He decided to save our skins, and his, and got killed for it. So, what could be so strong of a motive for a guy like him to do all this in the first place?"

While he spoke, Riza continued scanning the pages, looking for something to jump out at her. When it did, her brown eyes widened, "Money."

"Huh? I was looking for a noble cause, but money?" Roy asked, looking over her shoulder at the page, "You're right, he must have been in it for the money. This guy's group was poorer than paupers."

"But then how could they afford to buy those cannons?"

"That's what we have to find out, if we can trace the accounts . . ."

"Roy, you're the only one with the security clearance high enough to authorize bank records to be seized. Hughes always needed special permission from you or higher up because of how touchy the banks are. We'd have to do it at the bank itself too if it's going to get done, and not be buried in paper work . . . but we're supposed to be watching out for Edward. You can't be at two places at once unless . . ." she said as a bad feeling nagged at the back her of her mind while the Colonel's grin widened, "You're not seriously thinking about taking a . . ."

"Field trip," he said, nodding to her. Edward shot out of his chair, jumping up and down. Finally, progress had been made towards his freedom. He could see Al again soon, or Winry. The young alchemist was beaming as he turned to grab his brown coat, "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

"I don't think this is a good idea, sir. Maybe I could write up slips with your authorization to grant Maes and Havoc temporary clearance. Maybe if they went, they could report back quickly, and-," she said as her stomach tightened in worry. There it was again, that sinking feeling she had the last time he decided to do something stupid on his own. Why was she worried? It was Edward's life on the line, not Roy. And yet, something didn't feel right about this. "If you insist on both going, I'm going too," she declared as they both stared at her in disbelief, making her blush slightly, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not waiting this time to come and save you both."

Roy reached around to hug her from behind, burying his face in her hair and neck as she stiffened, "That's my girl, I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind. You're much too handy to not keep around."

She could feel him grin along with the teasing tone of his voice, making her groan as her eyes rolled, "Get off me and get the coats, please? I need to take care of Hayate and grab my guns . . ."

"You can't carry guns into a bank, can you?" Edward asked, blinking.

"I'd like to see them try to take them off of me," Riza said before she disappeared into her bedroom. Roy shrugged at the kid, not about to argue with her over weaponry. Whether he admitted it or not to either of them, he had a bad feeling about this as well. Maybe he was just over thinking this, maybe their assassins weren't smart enough to tamper with bank records, or maybe they were. For that concern alone, he was more than glad to allow his Lieutenant all the weaponry she needed to protect them.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 6, Armed and Dangerous. 


	6. Armed and Dangerous

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 6 – Armed and Dangerous

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story, but no naughty bits in this chapter. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Ever since they'd been picked up a few blocks from the apartment building by Hughes and Havoc, the three of them had fallen silent. Maybe it was the air of danger around them still, clinging and stifling. Before they left, Riza had not only come back with both of her hand guns and her rifle, but also an additional shoulder holster and pistol for the Colonel. Ed had watched them move without second guessing one another, even if he felt like saying something about it. It was odd. He was less paranoid about the whole thing than they were. After all, they were just going to a bank, not some seedy dive in the middle of the wrong end of town. Maybe the two were one in the same? That brought a smirk to his lips as he sat between them, watching Central go by the car windows. Havoc drove, like usual, while Hughes sat beside him, bent over the back rest to look at the three of them upside down. Both of them were dressed in suits with winter coats on top, like civilians, even if they still were technically on duty.

"You know, Mustang, we really caught a break on this one. If my other team hadn't seen Heinor while working on the rest of his group, we'd still be sitting in the office taking potshots at what to do next. You always did think ahead, but you could have told me your hunches sooner," Maes said with a grin, "Not that you'd mind this whole case taking a little longer, I'm sure. A little family living has done wonders for you and young Edward, and why Riza, you're positively glowing with maternal warmth. It reminds me of that time when Gracia had Elysia, and she was-, oh, wait! I got a picture!"

Ed and Roy both scowled at him for his comments, apparently irritated by not only his breaking of the silence but also his implications. Hawkeye laughed softly, slightly embarrassed by the whole thing as she hid her face behind her hands, "That's alright, Hughes, I think I remember that story."

Soon enough, she stopped laughing, just smiling instead. The Colonel shot the Lieutenant a look from across the back seat, his dark eyes narrowing enough that she knew that he was thinking about something. Riza's smile stopped too as she noticed and blinked at him, her pale eyebrows furrowing for a moment. They both ignored FullMetal sitting between them, exchanging glances with one another in silent communication. A worried look crossed his face, and she knew he was thinking of something other than the case. "What is it?" she asked, breaking the silence again.

For a moment, Roy glanced around the car at the other three, and knew this wasn't a topic for public discussion, "Later . . ."

"Roy . . ." she said, a threatening edge on her voice, "It's going to distract you, which is the last thing we need, so just say it."

"I don't get distracted," he muttered, mildly offended. A snorting chuckle came up from between them, and Mustang rolled his eyes. At least someone was getting a kick out of this. He tried to look away but could still feel those brown eyes of hers boring into him. He seemed to snap under her look, prying his lips open as he tried to talk softly, "Have we ever had a discussion, you know, on certain matters?"

She blinked, and he knew they hadn't or he wasn't being clear enough, "You know, certain matters . . . between us?"

"Roy, quit being cryptic and say it."

"Fine, when was the last time you . . . you know," Roy asked as the silence in the car was suddenly decidedly oppressive. Riza glared at him, turning red as she understood, and she wasn't the only one in car that got it either. Ed didn't get it, glancing back and forth between them, as he was stuck in the middle. All he knew is that they were probably fighting, and it was highly amusing to see them fight. A smirk came to his face as he turned towards the woman, "Would you like to trade seats? Less room between you two when you slap him."

"No, thank you, Edward, I have other ways to deal with him . . ."

Havoc sputtered in the front seat, barely containing his laughter as Hughes chuckled, "I think I'm having flashbacks to some of Gracia's ways of dealing with me, most of them involving pillows, blankets, and a couch. Word of advice, Colonel, let her win."

"Thank you, Maes, but kindly butt out?"

"Just looking out for you, sir."

"Duly noted," Roy ground out through his teeth, "Riza . . . I'm only concerned, it's not like you've ever told me what you do to prevent it. All I know is that you just keep, well . . ."

"Because quite frankly it's none of your business, sir."

"Stop calling me sir, Riza, and yes, it is since . . . damnit! Fine, we'll finish this later . . ."

"For the record, sir, she got it about two weeks ago," Havoc said before trying to hunch down in the driver's seat. Hawkeye glared at him in anger, as if she was about to shoot him followed then every other man in the car. Even Roy sunk lower into his seat at the fury in her eyes, knowing it was entirely his fault to begin with if they died premature deaths at the hands of an irate woman that just so happened to be a crack shot. "How, exactly, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, do you know that?" she said with a barely veiled hint of impending violence in her voice.

"Um, permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"Permission not granted, Lieutenant," Roy said, nearly barking the order at him, "One more word out of you, and I'll roast you faster than you can say flambé."

Edward looked at all of them, the whole entire conversation happening both literally and figuratively over his head. As amusing as it was to watch the pair of lovers quarrel, what in the blazes were they talking about? Maybe there was part of the talk that he was missing? He was also being pointedly ignored by all the adults present, which only made him crankier about it. The young alchemist frowned, nearly scowling again, "Someone please explain to me what I'm missing? It sounds like you're arguing over nothing."

"It is nothing, FullMetal, don't worry about it . . . at least until you get a girlfriend," Roy said with a frown as he sagged back into the seat. Riza frowned as well, leaning against the car door and ignoring them both. Regardless of her expression, Ed glanced at her anyway, his frustration turning into worry. "You ok?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine, Ed, it's just . . ." she started to say before breaking it off to look at Mustang. Why was he so difficult today, and worried? They were all on edge, sure, but why was he suddenly worried about that? She took precautions a long time ago before they started their relationship, before he even knew her. The Lieutenant just didn't tell him because it wasn't his concern. Besides it wasn't about him why she made her choice. Women fought in the Ishbal War. Women were always involved in wars in ways other than fighting whether they liked it or not. They were captured, tortured, or worse, but unlike what could happen with men, some consequences were more life altering than just horrible memories. So, she took herbal remedies for such indelicacies as children whether they were wanted or unwanted. It wasn't foolproof. She couldn't miss one dose. And yet, after the horror stories of rapes in the wake of the war, she wasn't going to take a chance being without it. Mustang wouldn't always be there to protect her, or vice versa.

Edward's metal elbow nudged her, breaking her thoughts even if her eyes were still locked on Roy's brooding figure, "You sure? You looked dazed a moment."

A reassuring smile spread over her face, more for his peace of mind than anything else as she looked down on him, "I'm fine, Major, we're almost to the bank anyway."

* * *

The First State Bank of Amestris was an imposing structure, probably more so than the First Central Branch Library. Ed's mouth dropped slightly at the sight of it before being prodded up the steps by the Colonel. He grunted at the rough treatment, glaring back over his shoulder before moving on. They were all around him, like over-protective bodyguards. Riza took point while Havoc and Hughes flanked him on either side. Mustang brought up the rear, constantly looking behind them till they were inside of the building. "You know, we look pretty suspicious walking around like this," FullMetal muttered once they were through the door, looking around the large, open lobby, his mouth dropping open again, "And this place is huge . . ."

Roy moved to the front of the group, leading the way. Ed would have remained there gawking if the First Lieutenant hadn't grabbed his shoulder with an amused smile, pulling him along. They passed row upon row of shining brass counters and polished wood desks, each one appearing barely scratched or used when compared to the ones in Headquarters. It made the home of the State Alchemists looks rather shoddy, especially with the gilded flourishes on the vaulted ceilings. Mustang lead them through a maze of office doors, and none of the workers within seemed to mind, scurrying about as if the passing group was nothing more than added scenery. For a moment, Edward smirked to himself, thinking of how this would be very different if they were all in military blues.

They finally stopped outside one corridor before a frosted glass door. The Colonel glanced at Hughes then Riza, "Watch the brat while Maes and I do business. It shouldn't take long, but I don't want trouble."

"Not to be superstitious, but whenever someone says that, trouble always seems to pop up exactly when we least want it," Ed muttered before collapsing on a nearby bench. If Roy even paid attention to that remark, his face didn't show it as he entered the office. Jean took a seat next to the young alchemist as the First Lieutenant leaned against a wall, both of them alert, but . . . not so alert at the same time. He sank lower into the seat, tempted to pull out his pocket watch after it had been buried in his back pocket, and start playing with it in idle boredom. But wait, that would have blown his civilian cover. Wouldn't take long, Mustang had said. Somehow he doubted that as he fidgeted, the minutes dragging by. As it seemed to be taking longer and longer, Riza tapped the heel of her flat brown snow boots on the marble floor, annoyed, "I don't like this, they're taking too long."

Whatever paranoia was in the air seeped into Ed as well, making him glance towards the door too as if expecting it to open any minute, "Maybe we should, you know, check on them."

For a moment, she seemed to consider the suggestion till it opened, the two officers coming back into the hall carrying a few new folders. From the pout on Roy's and Maes' faces, she knew whatever he found wasn't good. "Colonel?" she asked as they all popped up back to their feet.

"Not here, there are better places for a discussion like this . . ." he said, leading them back out. There it was again, that sinking feeling. Only this time it seemed to affect all of them.

* * *

"When you said better places, this wasn't exactly what I thought you had in mind," Riza said as she glanced around, glad she brought both of her handguns, even if she'd had to leave the rifle in the car, "I don't think you could have picked a more decrepit place unless it sprung out from the ground like some half-formed zombie."

"Next time we arrange a spot in a bar for a strategy meeting, I'll let you do the choosing, darling," Roy said too sweetly for it to be anything but sarcastic, grinning at the muffled snickers around the table. A scowl marred her face, picking up that bad habit from the two alchemists quite well. The only one of the officers who wasn't laughing in some way besides Riza was Edward. He frowned from his spot next the woman and across from Mustang while Havoc and Hughes both sat beside him. "Can we cut to the point, please? I'm sure you both will find a way to work it out later," he groused, not wanting to think about exactly how they'd work it out.

Whether he admitted it out loud or not, Edward hated this place as soon as they stepped into it. The smoke was heavy in the air, and probably coated every surface in the bar including the drinks. And everything seemed small, like the booth they had in the back corner, even for him. It was no where near as cheery as the inn and tavern he'd stayed in and rebuilt at the mines. He was scowling again, leaning with his metal elbow on the table and his chin resting on an upturned hand. The Colonel smirked.

"Despite the surroundings, this is about the last place anyone would look for us since you're not even old enough to be in here. Bribing works well sometimes though, but of course, to the point," he said as he tossed the files from the bank onto the table, "Our hunch was right, someone paid Heinor a very handsome sum to be bait. But unfortunately, there's no one person's name attached to the transferring account."

"No one person?" Riza questioned, putting emphasis on the word 'one', "So, it's a group then?"

"No, not a group per say, but a corporation, which is what I don't get . . ." Roy said with a sigh before looking at the other alchemist at the table, "You really pissed someone off good, FullMetal."

Edward gulped, loudly, "A whole company wants me dead!?"

"Keep it down!" Jean hissed at him then glanced around just to make sure no one was glancing back, "I'm sure there's more to this, right, Colonel?"

Mustang nodding then glanced to Hughes, who picked up the discussion, "The company in question is Delmark Arms, they . . . they actually sell guns to the State. That makes it very hard to get to their records, as they're under enough red tape to choke a horse. Not to mention they have huge records too. They have also always been philanthropic, which makes donations to Heinor's group not very conspicuous, since they were more like a cause than a rebel group."

"The money must have been sent from one of those foundation accounts," Roy said, interrupting Maes, "Anyone in that company could be using those funds for personal vendettas."

"But why me? I don't know a single person who works for them," Ed said, pale. He didn't get this at all. What had he ever done to deserve this? Ok, maybe he had done a lot of questionable things if he tallied all his sins, but nothing dealing with this arms company, surely? There was silence round the table, along with questioning glances and lots of shrugging. No one else seemed to know either. Hughes broke in as he noticed the wilted expression on the FullMetal Alchemist's face, "Well, we can start diving in to their company records once we get permission from higher up. It'll be a struggle though, and the red tape may be quite legendary to slice through . . ."

"How long will it take?" Edward asked, balking at what he said, "Weeks?"

"Well, it could be months actually . . ."

The teenager groaned, loudly, as his head hit the table, "I'll never see Al again, or Winry, or Rizembool . . ."

Everyone present at the table suddenly felt a small piece of sympathy him, whether they liked it or not. "Edward . . ." Riza said softly, trying to comfort him a little, "We'll think of something . . . won't we?"

On her last statement, she shot a look at Roy, almost begging him to say something beneficial to the poor kid's mental state. If it weren't for those big brown eyes of hers doing the pleading, he might have twisted the dagger into him a little more just because he could, but . . . Mustang groaned too, backing down before he risked another argument with either of them, "There is another plan, but it's risky, highly risky, I'm not even convinced it'll work myself. But, it's worth a shot."

"Brilliant pun," Ed deadpanned, frowning again as he sat back up, "What exactly is this highly risky, but potentially working, plan?"

"Would you believe that I intend to lure out our assassins by giving them the one thing they lack presently?"

Riza looked at him skeptically. She wasn't alone as everyone's eyebrows shot up, "What exactly do you mean, sir? You . . . you don't intend to give them a clear shot at Edward, do you?"

Mustang frowned, nodding his head once, "We can't play hide and seek forever. If we choose a battleground on our own terms, we could be ready for them, but I still don't know."

There was another heavy silence hanging over them.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink," Jean muttered finally, a spent cigarette hanging from his mouth, "Maybe if we get drunk enough we'll be able to see what the fuck is going on."

There was a murmur of agreement from everyone around the table, except from Edward. He was bent over the table top, looking darkly at the deeply stained and scratched wood. His head rested on his folded arms, thinking over everything they'd learned today and during the previous days. Maybe they were missing something, one final piece to make it all clear. Not that he was helping. He tried to jog his memory for anything he could think of about that company, if he knew someone connected to them. It wasn't easy as it was the first time he even heard the name, which left him brooding. Frustrated, Havoc got up to place their orders at the bar. The same brooding look overtook the rest of the officers by the time he got back, passing beers and shot glasses out to everyone except the shrimp. Ed looked dejectedly at the mug of root beer set in front of him, glaring at Jean, "I know I'm not old enough, but couldn't you let it slip once maybe? Not even for a man with a gun practically pressed against his head?"

"Can it, FullMetal, at least for three more years," Roy muttered before downing his shot of bourbon, "Then I'm sure someone will chip in to buy you your first drink."

"Isn't against policy to drink while on-duty?" he asked.

"I won't mention it again if you don't," Maes muttered, grinning broadly at his own shot glass.

Riza glanced at Edward then down at the beer before her hands. Despite Hughes protestations otherwise, the kid had a point and she pushed the stein away, "This is getting us no where while there's still a mole somewhere in Headquarters, who could be anyone, and a bunch of assassins running around with long-range rifles and hair triggers."

"The First Lieutenant is right, even if I'm all for getting sloshed till something that makes sense comes out," Jean said as he set down his mug, half of the beer already drained out of it, "What if we're wrong about this whole thing? It could be Alphonse they're after, I mean, they did use armor piercing rounds, and silencers so none of us knew it was coming till the first shot."

"True, but you'd need those types of bullets to get through automail too. They'd be simple to get for an arm's company too. We probably have the same rounds in the armory," she added, leaning on her elbows on the table, "And Al was no where near Edward or the smuggling suspect the night of the raid."

"Then why did he get hit in the second attack?"

Now that was an answer Riza didn't have as she glanced towards the only two eyewitnesses at the table. Ed blinked at the question, his mind jumping track from doom and gloom to thinking logically again, "I . . . I don't know, the three of us we're clustered together talking."

"I think I still remember that conversation too, something about you and food," Mustang muttered as his eyes drooped.

"Don't remind me, I'm still hungry."

"Boys . . ." Riza said threateningly, not allowing her annoyance to show, "Edward, were you closer to Al at the time of the shots, or was the Colonel?"

"Both of us were about the same I think, but I was in front and Mustang was at the side, I think," he said, frowning, "Everything after that's a little fuzzy."

"Roy?"

"Like the kid said as far as I remember . . . you're not changing theories are you?"

"No, but it is strange how they started shooting up everything once they missed the first shot. A professional sniper would have waited till someone made a mistake and moved out from cover. You wait for your target to be stupid, not be stupid yourself . . ."

"It was odd, sure, and we didn't think of it till now, but you've been saying all along that we're dealing with amateurs, ballsy amateurs, but still . . ."

"It has all the marking of a personal hit from a non-professional, just . . . maybe we do have the wrong target in mind . . ." Riza said as a silence fell over the table again with a clattering of glasses being placed down. It was an idea, which Roy considered, but then that would make him their only likely target. "Don't you think you're being a little too paranoid now?" he asked, thoroughly sounding as if he disbelieved the idea.

"You know, I didn't really think you'd take my idea seriously, ma'am. I mean, I could be wrong too, everything so far has pointed to FullMetal, not the Colonel or Alphonse," Havoc said after another sip of beer, "If it was the Colonel, I mean, wouldn't they be smarter to sprinkle a little water on him first?"

Grins went round the table, except for the butt of the joke who glowered instead. His role for comedy in these dark times filled, the Second Lieutenant went back to drinking. It was slightly gratifying being taken seriously for a change though. Riza smiled a little at Jean for the humor, and across the table a slightly fiery look spread over Roy's face till she smiled at him too. After a moment of looking into her brown eyes, Mustang's anger went away and he silently went back to brooding. With a groan, Ed slumped over the table again, depressed once more, "We're still back to where we started . . ."

"Colonel, if I may suggest, getting an employee list from Delmark Arms might not require as much time as financial reports to see who ordered the transfer. Maybe a name will crop up on us," Maes suggested as he shook the shot glass in his hands. A smirk it up across Roy's face at that thought. It was worth a try, and it would give him more time to come up with a feasible backup plan. "Alright, Hughes, get to work on that. Once you get the list, turn it over to us, I want a read through of it too. Havoc, I want you to start going over the departments, find anyone with connections to Delmark. Start in Purchasing then the Quartermaster since most of our requisition forms end up there. Since Internal Affairs hasn't been forthcoming, we can't rely on them, so no more contact. We'll handle this on our own . . ."

There was a sudden urge from everyone present, except Edward, to start saluting as their hands twitched. Thankfully none of them did, or their covers would have been blown to hell. Riza smiled at Mustang, softly, otherwise she would have been grinning, "Sir, if I may say . . . I'm very proud of you, using paperwork to your advantage once again."

"Thank you," Roy said, his grin unabashedly mischievous, "And the beauty of it is I don't have to sign a blasted thing!"

* * *

They walked through the snow again, the fresh fall from the night before now packed down hard in the foot falls of the other pedestrians. It wasn't an odd sight, a man, a woman, and a child in the middle with the parents on either side, all walking together down the street. If it weren't for the scowl on the kid's face, or the fact that he was a little too old if one looked under his brown cap, anyone might have thought they were one happy family. Since the meeting in the bar ended, they'd been dropped off a bit away from Riza's apartment. Not that she had minded. The fresh air could do some good to wipe off the sour look on the young alchemist's face. He was so tightly wound sometimes with or without the present situation. She was fairly certain that if Edward's recklessness didn't get him killed a coronary would finish him off. It was times like these that she missed the presence of his sibling. At least around Alphonse he seemed happier. But it couldn't be helped.

Once they were out of the car, Roy's look had deepened as well. He seemed to always brew like that when his plans didn't work out right. It was hard watching him struggle with things he didn't have control over, like investigations, but he seemed to love it too. Maybe it was the mystery, or how satisfied he looked when it was over with. But in the thick of any prolonged case, he could turn into a right prick. Riza sighed, glancing around again as she ignored the sound of shuffling feet and the two gloomy alchemists next to her. Despite how many times she looked, she never really saw anything, and yet, something always made her nervous.

By chance, she looked over her shoulder, which was usually Roy's paranoia-induced department. There was a man behind them in a heavy green coat and brown hat, looking at them intently. That was funny. She's seen that same man behind them before, just two blocks back when they'd turned the corner. A warning went off in her head while the rest of her went decidedly calm. No panicking, not till she was sure. "Why don't we turn up at the corner, we should stop for more . . . bread for tonight's dinner, and I'm sure you must be hungry still, Edward?" Riza asked, trying not to sound desperate while adding emphasis onto her words.

The short alchemist blinked at her, "A little . . ."

He lied. He was famished and food one of them didn't have to cook sounded good. Roy glanced at her though, more suspicious than confused by the suddenness of her request, "Darling . . . is there something you're not telling us?"

"No, just a really good bakery ahead. . ." she said slowly. Riza looked into the Colonel's eyes, the brown orbs shifting toward behind them ever so slightly. His dark eyes widened, taking up the subtle hint to look back as well. He almost turned his whole head but noticed the panic in her eyes as he froze. Something was wrong, just as he suspected. "Ed, I think she's right, I'm feeling hungry myself, we should stop," he said, his voice bland.

"Whatever," the teenager said roughly, as if he didn't care if he ate or not, starting to trudge past them. Both of the adults panicked as he moved away, stepping quickly behind his back to keep him covered as they rounded the corner. Riza took a quick glance and noticed the man had sped up too. Now she was sure they were being followed. "Roy . . ." she said, a tremor in her voice.

"I know, I know, I'm thinking."

"What's going on?" Ed asked as he glanced between them, picking up on the tension as his eyes narrowed, "We're not going to eat, are we?"

"Not unless you want it to perhaps be your last meal, FullMetal," Roy said, moving up to grab his shoulder roughly, "Don't look back, we have a follower."

Whether he intended it or not, Edward stiffened, nearly stopping in their march through the snow if it wasn't for the Colonel's hand propelling his feet along. Beneath her longcoat, Riza reached for her side arm, keeping the rifle down for now. This could be bad, or could be the break they needed as it wasn't an ambush but a straggler. It was a chance to crack the case wide open or get one of them killed. She could feel the adrenaline flooding her system as her heart raced, beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Roy . . ." she said slowly, using the words to calm herself, "I'm taking a chance, sir."

"Riza, don't be stupid."

"When am I ever stupid? Please . . ." she started ask, looking into his eyes to see the worry there in the ebon depths, "Let me do this . . . Get Edward out of here."

The safety clicked off from the gun in her hands, and now even Ed felt afraid, about ready to run. Roy looked at her, torn. Damnit! He was supposed to be the one giving orders and being brave, not her! But at the determined looked in her brown eyes and their wide expression, he wasn't about to undermine his best soldier. "I hope you know what you're doing, Lieutenant, and you better come back safe," he said darkly but with a slight hitch of worry in his voice, "Edward, next corner we break right."

He nodded, the end of the sidewalk approaching fast. Suddenly, Riza moved, spinning on her heel to face their follower. The two alchemists ran across the street, barely noticed as she brought the handgun up. The man in green stopped and she noticed the whites of his eyes expand, along with his skin blanching. He was afraid of her, or probably more so of the gun pointed at him. He obviously hadn't expected that, and she wasn't expecting him to run. "Shit," she cursed as he took off across the street, nearly getting run over as car brakes squelched.

Hawkeye ran as well, ducking around the traffic to keep up. She jumped over the banks of plowed snow while her suspect struggled to wade through it, giving her an advantage in catching up. "Stop!" she shouted as he floundered about, fear evident as his head snapped toward her.

Wasn't this supposed to be the other way around? She could have sworn a moment ago she was the one in fear of getting shot dead. Growling in frustration as he didn't listen and ran faster, she followed.

* * *

Mustang shoved Edward down one of the narrow alleys less then a block from the apartment, both of them exhausted from running. "Déjà vu all over again," FullMetal muttered, bent over and resting with his hands on his knees as he panted, "If you got us lost again-."

"I know where we are, shut up," Roy said with an annoyed edge on his voice, "I haven't heard shots, so I think we're fine."

"What about Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"She's a big girl, she can handle herself."

"Aren't you the least bit worried for your-?"

"Don't even finish that question, FullMetal, this is Riza's job, as is yours, so shove it right now or ask her yourself later," Mustang said, very pissed off that the kid decided to bring this up now. The glare pointed in his direction was enough to shut Ed up, along with the implied tone. So the Colonel was worried about her after all, just really, really didn't want to talk about it. Suddenly, he felt kind of sorry for Roy, being in love with a woman that put herself at risk because it was her duty. "No wonder your relationship is so-," he started to say till the Flame Alchemist waved his hand at him like a madman, shushing him, "But I was-."

"Shut up," he hissed through his teeth but Ed kept babbling on, "What the hell! You never let me-!"

Roy sprung up from the wall and lunged at FullMetal, grabbing him and putting a gloved hand over his mouth as he went ballistic. For a moment, the Colonel was sure his hand was going to get bit and his ass kicked by the pint-sized pack of over-reaction as he tried to thrash his way out of the arm-lock. It took all of his control to keep his voice down before he yelled at him and made even more noise, "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut the hell up and listen!"

There it was, growing louder than when he heard it over Ed's blabbering. It was the sound of running feet overhead. The young alchemist heard it too and stopped struggling. Surprisingly enough, he let Roy he pulled him back into a dark corner of the alley without knocking his block off and screaming bloody murder. They both went dead silent and looked up as the pounding only grew louder with a thump, thump, thump. A shadow passed overhead, jumping across the thin gap between the rooftops, the sound of feet hitting the opposite side matching what they witnessed. They both flinched. It was only one person, no second or third shadow joining them, as the sound passed. "Where are you going . . .?" Mustang wondered out loud to himself about that figure, forgetting about everything else for the moment.

That was until a frustrated growl was issued from under his arms. Ed went back to struggling, prying the hand off his mouth to mutter in a dangerously low voice, "Get the hell off of me . . ."

Mustang suddenly remembered who he was hugging, and pushed FullMetal away fast. The pip-squeak turned on him, fury in his amber eyes, like he was about to deck his commanding officer. But then his metal hand shook in the air with a soft clank of moving parts, an accusing finger pointed at his face. "Don't ever, ever do that again," Ed threatened, sounding like his anger was barely held in check, "Got it?"

Roy smirked, his voice just as dark as the kid's, "That wasn't exactly pleasant for me either, next time I tell you to shut up, shut the hell up."

"Arrogant bastard."

"Idiotic little brat."

Threats and name-calling exchanged, an angry stare-down contest between them commenced until the Colonel broke it off first, rolling his eyes, "Save it for later, FullMetal, now would be a good time to make a break for it since our assassin is gone."

Grumbling, and not liking it for one moment, Edward let him lead the way back out of the alley, "You could just satisfy my curiosity right now, and tell that you're worried about her? I'd feel a whole lot better at least."

"I am worried now," Roy said with a frown, glancing back up to the roofs as they reached the streets, "Very, very worried."

* * *

Riza hated chases, pounding down the slick pavement with the wet crunch snow in her wake. Havoc was better at this than her. He wasn't that good of a shot compared to her, but he could outrun most people. Winter clothes were not designed for running either, her coat wide open and the barrel of the rifle peeking out along with the strap used to keep it on her. It was going to take an act of God to catch up to the bastard now. She rounded the corner, nearly skidding on icy slush in her rush. He was purposefully picking deserted streets now after a few brave souls in the crowds of pedestrians they passed nearly caught him for her. It was clever of him, annoyingly clever. She ran as fast as she could, watching the man cross the street then zigzag through another crowd of walkers. Where the hell was he going? She watched as the guy in green took a sharp turn down into an alley.

Riza knew where she was well enough to know that particular alley stopped in a dead end. Well, she was looking for an act of God, but one of stupidity worked too. With a new burst of speed, she rounded the corner into the alley, barreling right into the suspect. They collided, the Lieutenant's momentum great enough to throw him deeper into the narrow passage as well as shove him to the ground. She landed on top of him, scrambling up to sit on his stomach hard, forcing out all the air he had left from his lungs. Regardless of if he could breathe or not, the guy still tried to fight the determined woman off, "Get off me, bitch!"

The hammer of her gun clicked, and the barrel was pressed under his throat, "Want to say that again?"

The man froze, his eyes widening as he stared up at her in disbelief. She loomed over him, sitting up with a cold fury in her brown eyes. For a moment, it looked like she didn't care if she killed him or not, "Who sent you?"

"I ain't telling you! Get the hell off me!"

With a growl, her knee moved and crushed into his lap as he gave a choking cry of pain. She asked a different question this time, "Why were you following us?"

Despite the pain Riza was causing him, he paused. Was he really considering her question? "Us?" he asked in a small, agonized voice, "I was suppose to follow you, not the kid or the guy, and certainly not get my ass caught."

Her icy calm shattered, the panic rising in her throat. Her!? Followed?! Why?! The gun pressed into his throat more insistently, "Why!? Who sent you!?"

"I'm a private detective, I follow people! It's my job!"

"Why were you following me?! Who sent you?!"

"I got paid for it, lady! Get the hell off me!"

"By who?! Why?!"

"I don't know who! They contacted me through another client. They wanted to know-," he started to say before there was a blast through air, followed by a spray of blood after a sickening thump. She shielded her eyes as her vision was nothing but crimson. When she looked again, there was a gaping hole where the man's forehead had been. Riza hurled herself away from the fresh corpse, flipping onto her back into the snow and pointing the gun up. Her heart beat wildly in her throat while scanning the rooftop, looking for the barrel of a rifle to be pointed at her. All she saw was a skittering black shadow and the sound of running feet that diminished second by second. They were running away? Why did they kill the guy and not her? They had a clear shot at her. She didn't know the answer to any of her questions, but she was determined to find out something. The Lieutenant sprung back to her feet, and put the gun away before looking for a quick way up to the roof.

There was a fire escape nearby, rusty, but sturdy. Riza took it, jumping up to grab the ladder. She pulled herself up then pounded up the stairs. As she ran, she pulled the rifle strapped under her coat free and slipped on the scope hidden in her outer pocket. Sometimes it paid to be prepared. Whoever it was, she'd never get close enough to them in time to catch up, but she might learn something of their suspect or take a shot. The sharpshooter made it to the roof, peeking just over the edge as she held the rifle up. She looked through the eyepiece, tracking the movement she saw in the distance while muttering out loud, "Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?"

And then she spotted them, a black blur in her crosshairs, too far for a shot. She cursed, "Damnit!"

It was only a silhouette too, covered in head to toe in black. There wasn't even a hair color visible from under a dark cap they wore. And yet her eyes did see something as the shadow turned, the curves of a body. Their sniper was a woman? And then the figure was gone just as quickly as she processed that thought, dropping out of sight back down to the street. Riza lowered the gun, the last few moments playing over in her head. Slowly, she turned around and looked back down to the alley and the body. Someone sent a detective after her? Why? And why would their assassin kill him? To silence him before he said too much, right? Was this like their other dead lead, yet another loose end to be tied up? What were they after? And what did she and Edward have to do with it?

The questions ran through her head at a maddening pace. Maybe she was going mad, the paranoia coursing through her. For a moment, her control on her nerves shattered, very, very scared before she squashed it again. Now wasn't the time. When she was home, safe, and huddled in the arms of the man who loved her, then maybe she'd lose her sanity a little. Or was her home no longer safe too?

Riza closed her coat, hiding the guns along with the blood covering the front of her sweater. She walked quickly and efficiently down the fire escape, through the alley, and back onto the street, intent on believing for the moment that none of this had happened. And yet, the further away she got from the scene, the more it sank in that she was in fact now caught up in this mess more than ever before.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 7, A Simple Plan. 


	7. A Simple Plan

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 7 – A Simple Plan

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story, but no naughty bits in this chapter. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Dreximgirl. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Roy paced back and forth between the small living room and the dining room of Riza's apartment. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. At least, that was what Edward read in the Colonel's movements. He had been obviously agitated and troubled ever since they had arrived back. Like he wasn't worried too, but he didn't look like he was going to completely lose his marbles either. It didn't help that the man still wore the gun that the Lieutenant had given him, and the ignition gloves. It looked like he was excepting trouble. Black Hayate sat in the boy's lap, watching Mustang too as he put his head down with a soft whine. Apparently he didn't like the situation either. Ed couldn't blame him, stroking his metal hand through the soft fur to calm himself as well as the dog. And yet the heavy foot-falls on wood grated on his nerves no matter how much he tried to keep calm. "She should have been back by now," Mustang muttered as he finally stopped pacing, looking at Edward, "What time is it?"

"One minute since the last time you asked," he replied with a new scowl on his face, looking down at the open pocket watch on the table, "And about five minutes since we arrived back."

"She could be in trouble, I should have called the office for back up," Roy said, going for the phone before thinking against it, "Damnit, damnit, damnit! I will not lose faith in her! She's fine! She's . . . fine . . ."

Ed frowned more as the Colonel went back to pacing. He was about to open his mouth, a sarcastic remark dancing through his head, when there was a sound on the stairs. It sounded like foot-falls on the wooden floor. Roy tensed until they heard the scraping of a key in the lock. He visibly relaxed and opened the door before the latch had even been turned. Riza stood there in a haze, blinking as she looked up at him instead of coming inside, "I . . . what happened?"

He didn't say anything as he pulled her inside quickly. Before she could utter a word, the door was closed and his arms were around her, hugging her tightly. As her body stiffened, he knew something was wrong, and yet he didn't let go. Slowly, Riza's composure snapped as she shook, tense, "Roy . . . Let me go."

Her tone of voice was like ice, the sound passing though him as he froze. She pried herself away from him, backing up into the door. The fear in her brown eyes shot straight into him, forcing aside his relief at seeing her safe and sound. Maybe she was neither as safe nor as sound as he thought. "Riza . . ." Mustang said softly, trying to calm them both down even as the rampant paranoia gripped him as well, "What happened?"

Why did he have to ask that when words seemed beyond her at the moment? All along the walk back, all that she could think about were questions, questions, nothing but questions, and no answers. While she was still a little afraid, no denying that, she was annoyed, bordering on angry, enough that she wanted to shoot something very badly, including him. Hugging could come later as a flash of frustration crossed her face, much later. With a huff, she threw off her coat, letting it fall to the floor. As soon as Roy saw the deep red and reddish-brown splatter all over her cream sweater, he paled, "Riza, what the hell happened?"

As if noticing the blood for the first time, her anger was brushed aside as she looked down and blinked, speaking too calmly about it, "It isn't mine."

Edward watched the whole thing from the couch with a feeling of detachment, as if he wasn't even there. There was something undeniably wrong with the First Lieutenant or at least with what happened to her as she looked at them both. He probably would have said something, and really wanted to, but the look on the Colonel's face stopped him. Dealing with an upset Hawkeye was the man's department, not his. And yet no one spoke in those few moments till Roy reached to grab her arm, only to have her slip free and hiss at him, "Don't, just don't, not now."

"Riza . . ."

"I will tell you what the hell happened when I'm good and ready!" she yelled at him. For a moment Ed thought she'd finally cracked until she took a deep breath and let it out with one calm word, "Sir."

She dropped the rifle next to the door, and walked quickly past him towards the kitchen. Roy was instantly behind her, his dark eyes darting over her with concern. Hayate sprang off the young alchemist's lap and followed, leaving him to catch up before he was left out. Instead of walking into the kitchen, both the boy and the dog crouched down and peeked through the open doorway quietly. It wasn't that hard to be silent given the clattering Riza made as she shuffled through the cabinets. Roy didn't say anything either as she seemed to be looking for something in particular. Growling with frustration, she pulled off her shoulder holster and slammed the gun down on the counter, before turning to him, "You'd think a grown woman would remember where she kept her alcohol hidden . . ."

A dark eyebrow went up on the Colonel's face, and Riza sighed, tugging the ruined sweater from her pants. With one swift motion, she pulled it over her head and off before tossing it out towards the dining room. Ed and Hayate ducked out of sight and out of the way of the flying garment, going unnoticed as she stood there with just a black satin bra covering her top. If there wasn't an air of tension about everything, the teenager may have gawked at the half-naked woman, but he didn't. Winry had done a thorough job desensitizing him to female nudity already. Given how much blood had soaked through the yarn, he couldn't blame her for wanting to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Flecks of dried blood clung to the fabric as well as her fair skin, turning a sickly shade of ruddy brown. She stood there shaking a moment, her hands gripping the counter until her knuckles went bone-white. Roy's eyes widened and he quickly pulled off his own shirt to drape it over her shoulders. For a moment, his hands rubbed her upper back in comfort until she stiffened again under his touch, her fingers inching towards the gun. He pulled away, frowning as he moved around her to look through the cabinets himself, "You're right, a drink is in order."

Eventually Mustang found a half empty bottle of whiskey lingering in the back of an upper shelf, hidden behind a packet of flour along with a small assortment of other spirits. He grabbed it along with two glass tumblers, pouring the drinks. Riza didn't notice until the liquor was placed before, standing hunched over the counter and staring numbly into the swirls of the stone veins. She grabbed the shot and downed it before Roy even had his to his lips, putting the glass down again with a clink. His dark eyes widened again, "You've picked a hell of a time to turn into a drinker, maybe you should slow down a little . . ."

"He's dead . . . the guy following us, he's dead," the Lieutenant said softly and full of bitterness. Was it bitterness or was it just disappointment? "It wasn't you . . . was it?" he asked tentatively.

"No . . . take three guesses . . ."

Ed couldn't help it as he sputtered, "The snipers!?"

He cringed, just knowing both of the adults were looking at him with frowns on their faces despite the wall in between. It looked like his hiding place had been given away. Blushing, he stood up and leaned against the doorway, "Well, you didn't tell me not to listen in . . ."

Riza grabbed the bottle from Roy and poured another, larger drink, "There's more, this guy was a private-eye, he was paid to follow one of us."

"Me?!" Ed asked, "For crying out loud!? Isn't that overkill?!"

"No, his orders were to follow me," she said as she tossed back the double-shot of whiskey. The whole apartment went silent except for her glass hitting the counter again. Roy placed his drink down beside hers, and touched her hand. She looked up into his dark eyes, caught in the blackness there. He was worried, but not enough to be stifling, just enough to be as afraid as she was. The look on his face, of equal parts concern and comfort, melted the rest of Riza's resistance as she leaned towards him suddenly. Her face was buried in his chest as her fingers clutched his white undershirt, shaking slightly. His arms wrapped over her shoulders, holding her tightly with his lips pressed into her blond hair. It was all he could do as he tried to understand her implications. Ed must have been thinking along the same lines as the two men stared at each other, brooding. What in the world were they going to do now?

But of course, Mustang was already calculating an answer to that very question while brushing aside his worry for his lover at the moment. "Well, at least this means one thing," he said lowly, "Looks like you're somewhat off the hook, kid."

"How can you draw that conclusion? They could be after both of our heads now," Ed said with a frown, "All this proves is that we should be more paranoid then we all are already. They could be watching the building right now."

"If they were, then they would have struck already. They're waiting for something . . ."

Slowly, Riza put her head up, more composed and relaxed with three shots in her and a bit of comfort, "Roy, maybe we should consider moving out of here, and to a proper safe house? I won't like it any more than you, but this whole situation is slowly going sideways, and we're not one step closer to finding our suspects . . . well . . . maybe we are, I did see something of one of them . . ."

The Colonel arched his eyebrows at her, "Oh really?"

"Just that there was only one of them this time, and it was a woman."

Ed blinked, "A woman? . . . Maybe there's a sniper working for us now?"

Roy smirked at the idea, "Dream on, whoever she was, she's probably connected to this somehow, it's too . . ."

". . . Yeah, it's too much of a coincidence, but why?"

"We'd all like to know that I think . . ."

"Well, if she is one of the original snipers, she's gotten to be a better shot, hit him right in the forehead without even grazing me, it was a very good shot . . ." Riza said with a frown, glancing towards the bottle of whiskey while pondering another drink, "There's a little more to it too. The detective was contacted by a previous client, but I never got his name . . ."

"We'll have to get the body taken care of and find out the identity that way. I'll call the office soon," Roy frowned, not liking the new situation one bit, "I don't like this at all, they're being far to free with their actions . . ."

"Doesn't answer what we're doing to do now . . ." there was gloom in Ed's voice as he said that. The Lieutenant he was still hugging didn't look too convinced of it either. Her voice shook slightly as she asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"First off, we're not moving," the Colonel said as his arms slipped away from around her figure. Methodically, the Flame Alchemist pulled off his gloves and stuffed them down his back pocket as he walked past them both. He then sat down at the dining room table, pulling the phone in front of him as he spoke, "Like I said, if they did know where we were, they would have hit by now if their goal was the death of either of you. They had their chances today, but didn't take them. They're waiting for us to make a move perhaps, and I intend to make one on my own terms. We've sat around long enough. Hawkeye, where is the body now?"

"In an alley between Claymont and Ashmore," she said as she turned and moved up to the doorway, leaning on the opposite side of Edward, "What are you intending to do, sir?"

"Take care of our corpse, and set up my back-up plan. I need an hour then I'll tell you both fully what our recourse will be. Lieutenant, you look like you need to get cleaned up, and Major, as punishment for eavesdropping, you have KP duty. Make something before your stomach gets louder than your voice. And make me something too while you're at it," he said as he picked up the receiver, dialing the rotor for their office number. Apparently that was the end of the discussion for now. The young alchemist growled lowly, muttering, "Friggen bastard Colonel, can't even make his own sandwich."

Riza didn't say anything as she walked past Edward towards the hallway with Hayate padding behind her. Roy was probably right anyway. A shower would feel good about now, and food too, no matter what the boy chose to make as part of kitchen patrol. Sighing, she walked into the bathroom and then started to slowly close the door behind her. Before it was shut completely, she could see Mustang's eyes following her despite the distance, a reassuring smile on his face. Despite how much she may have protested his appearance at her apartment two days ago, and how much chaos it wrought since, she was grateful. If it had only been her and Ed, she didn't think she could have handled it as well. Smiling slightly, Hawkeye closed the door then turned to look in the mirror, frowning at the mild buzz in her head from the alcohol, "I guess it could have been a lot worse . . ."

The pup nuzzled her ankles with a small whine, prompting a smile down at him from his mistress, "You're right too, of course. It could have gone a lot better . . . just glad to be home in one piece."

* * *

One hour later, they all drifted back to the table which Roy was hunched over, still on the phone. The only time he even came close to grinning was when FullMetal shoved a sandwich in front of him before plopping down in the chair across the table. He didn't even utter a thank youl, which sent the pip-squeak into muttering numerous variations of ungrateful bastard. At least the kid stopped once he dug into his plate piled high with at least five different sandwiches. Riza joined them soon afterwards. She looked a lot better even if she was only dressed in her white robe, her hair still damp. Or maybe it was the cup of tea she had made and sipped on before sitting down that calmed her frazzled nerves.

The Colonel looked at her with a scant smile, distracted by her for a moment before he went back to talking on the phone, "Right, right, don't worry about it, Maes, I'll take care of it all on my end. I need you and Havoc to do the logistics, and financing. Falman's back from leave? Fine, put him on the lead with the detective. I'm not stopping the investigation. I am just tired of sitting. There should be enough in petty cash for incidentals, wire it into my account. I'll get the requisition forms to you tomorrow too. Right, got it all now? . . . I know it's risky! This is why I didn't want to do it earlier, but stuff changed! Don't make me repeat it all over again . . . I'm touched, really, didn't know you cared so much . . . right, Hughes, just get your ass home for the day, and see your beautiful little girl and lovely wife so I don't have to hear about them from you! . . . Bye, Hughes."

He hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh, prompting a soft laugh from the Lieutenant and a smirk from the Major. Roy glared at them both, "You'd do that too after talking to him for an hour on end, admit it."

Ed snorted a chuckle over his half-eaten sandwich then put it down while wiping a bit of mayo from his mouth, "Perhaps, but it's more entertaining watching him push your buttons rather than ours."

Riza grinned sheepishly, shrugging as she couldn't help but agree when the Colonel looked to her for a response. Growling in frustration, he muttered, "Mutinous lot you are, I should ship you all off to someone else's command."

"Sir . . ."

"I know, I know, then I wouldn't get to order either of you around . . ." he said as he watched the two of them sputter, "If you're both ready now, we have a long discussion ahead of us."

"You mean we finally learn of this back-up plan?" Riza asked as she put her tea down.

"Yup!" Roy said, much too happily as he leaned back in his chair, "I've come to several conclusions today given everything that's happened today. Our assassins are after something which no longer requires the death of FullMetal, but requires following Hawkeye, so . . . we set a trap. We need a battleground that's public, yet enclosed, one we can get information on, and one relatively out of the way of normal habits. Above all, it needs to send a signal to our assassins that we know they're after us, so, out of the ordinary is good."

"But why?" Ed asked as he was tempted to scowl again, "Isn't that just begging them to attack?"

"That's kind of the point. We want them to strike, but we'll have enough eyes there to root them out before they do."

"So much for investigation. What about Delmark Arms and all that?" Riza asked, sounding slightly put out, "Wouldn't it be better to lay low and let the others unravel this?"

"I'd love to, but we're running out of options. You don't want us here forever, and the longer this drags on, the more the rest of the military is going to ask questions. We can't afford questions right now, remember . . . Besides, I always am better with a plan of action," Roy said with a shrug, "I gave Maes a few days to keep digging anyway while we work, maybe he'll turn over something."

"Can we get back to the plan, please?" Ed asked after another bite of food.

"Right, I've already selected our battleground for this operation, but we'll have to do most of it ourselves. We'll need outfitting, and covers."

"Covers, sir?" Hawkeye asked, blinking, "What exactly are you proposing?"

"Edward, Riza . . . Have either of you been to the ballet?"

The teenager choked on his sandwich, coughing to dislodge the piece stuck in his throat before swallowing on it hard. Similarly, Riza's teacup dropped to the table with a heavy clink on the saucer. She stared at him, her mouth gaping open in complete shock. "Have you gone mad?!" the Lieutenant yelled, climbing out of her chair, "Sir! I mean really?! Ballet?! That's no place for a military operation! What if something goes wrong?! The civilians we could be putting at risk!"

Roy had anticipated this, "Complete and total chaos isn't out of the cards yet, Lieutenant. I've thought about it too. Please, sit back down so I can explain?"

With much reluctance, she lowered herself back down while her eyes never left his. He didn't mind the stare down, grinning at her instead. If she didn't question the choices he made, he doubted he'd respect her as much as he did. Nevertheless, he continued, "In three days from now is the Central City Ballet's premiere of its new piece called the Firebird. I've already arranged box-seats for four, and seats throughout the hall for the rest of the team. We'll be acting as the bait while the rest patrol during the performance. Hopefully, we'll find our assassins before they strike, but if they slip through and attack, I've arranged for a few circles to be transcribed on the box ahead of time for our protection. It'll make things quicker if we need to fall back on them. If all hell does break lose, we need an escape route out the back of the theater. They haven't struck at any civilians in the way yet, so that's a plus on our side as I doubt they'll start now. We need this to look as normal as possible, so, Riza, I'll be escorting you."

A smile crept onto her face along with a slight blush, "Roy, you're not using this as an excuse for a date, are you?"

"No, a chance to see you in an evening gown is just an added bonus," Mustang said as he grinned back, bordering on impish before he continued, "But this leaves our problem with FullMetal . . ."

"Problem? What problem?" Ed asked as he scowled again, "There isn't a problem, but then again, I haven't agreed to this yet, really, ballet? You might as well just write 'shoot here' on my forehead."

"What's bothering you? Playing bait for a few bullets or the music and dancing? I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm not the one targeted either. I won't order you to do this, but the reality of it is we could be stuck here indefinitely if none of the leads pan out. Likewise, I doubt you'll want keep looking over your shoulder forever while hunting for the stone. So, which is it?" Roy asked, but he already knew the answer.

The young alchemist still looked skeptical, his eyes shifting over towards Riza who just shrugged. It was beginning to look like he didn't have a choice. "Alright, fine, I'm in, never did like sitting around anyway . . ." he said grudgingly, "So what's this problem of mine?"

"Do you know any pretty young women who'd jump at a chance to go out with you for an evening with you?"

Ed sputtered again at his question, turning red, "What!? A girl?! I don't know any girls! I-! No!"

"You need a date, Major."

"A date?! No! No way in hell! I'll go alone!"

The Lieutenant's brown eyes narrowed slightly at his denial, knowing he was lying out his ass after what she'd witnessed that morning. No man would stay up all night talking to a woman if he merely considered her just a friend. And no woman would do the same unless there was something there. He did like the Rockbell girl, and she liked him, or he was an oblivious idiot. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to use her. She was already familiar with the other officers from when she visited, not to mention her penchant for getting in on their messes anyway. It might also put Edward more at ease too with her around. Slowly, Riza smiled, "What about Miss Winry?"

The boy paled and looked at her in disbelief, "She's my mechanic . . ."

"But she's pretty, and she's your best friend, or so you've said. We should ask her. You must be dying to see her."

A look of malice crossed Ed's amber eyes a moment, pointed in Riza's direction.

Roy's eyebrows arched at the exchange between them, especially as FullMetal suddenly seemed more nervous at the mere mention of the girl. Winry, Winry, that name struck a cord in him as he remembered her last name, Rockbell. He paled too. It was a small world after all, wasn't it? Yet, if he recalled right, she would be just what this mission needed. She'd been in dangerous situations before if he remembered with the Chopper, and she'd say yes to a request from Ed without a second thought. Slowly, Mustang grinned as well, "She's perfect. Edward, I order you to call her and ask her."

"What!? You bastard! You can't order me on a date!" Ed said as he jumped up from his chair, "It's-, it's-, damnit, it's not fair! I-! Isn't it enough with what happened with the Chopper?! I don't want to put her in that sort of situation again!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them, as there was far too much of the truth in them. The last thing he wanted was for them to know how much he cared for Winry. They wouldn't understand at all. He didn't want her involved in this, but . . . damn that bastard, he was being ordered, wasn't he? His hands tightened into fists, the cruelty of the situation just dawning on him. She'd hate him for taking her into danger if he did ask her, but she'd hate him even more if he took someone else. "Is this completely necessary, sir?" he asked, his voice small and terse.

Riza's eyes softened at the pained expression on Edward's face, about ready to call it off herself until Roy broke in, "It would look abnormal if you didn't have a female companion to escort, besides, you could always hope that this thing doesn't end in a complete disaster. You should thank me later if it doesn't and you end up getting lucky . . ."

"Roy!" she shouted at him, mortified as she slapped his shoulder. The poor boy splutter and turned about twenty different colors between white, green, deep purplish-red, and bright pink, sputtering. Mustang just smirked, not even reacting to Hawkeye's smack, "Could be worse, we could have to hire another woman to escort him if she says no."

"And you're ordering me to ask her?" Ed asked with a deep frown.

"Yes, but I would hope you'd treat her as if she's welcome here . . . and you can't let her in on our plan either," he started to explain until the kid raised his metal hand to cut him off. Edward has been afraid of that too, but he knew it was coming. Stiffly, he reached across the table and grabbed the phone from in front of the Colonel then turned with it to walk towards the hallway. "I get it," he said, not hiding the anger in his voice, "I don't like it, but I get it. I'll call her, in private."

Both of the adults exhaled in relief when he grumbled his way towards the door to his bedroom, the dark cord trailing behind him. And yet, before Ed went in, he stopped and glared at the pair of officers, shouting, "And for the record, if you two ever have kids, you'd be the worst parents of all time! Nothing can be worse than parents with security clearances!"

The door slammed with reverberation that shook the walls of the small apartment. They looked at each other in shock a moment. After a moment, Roy muttered quietly while still staring down the hallway, "That went well . . ."

"Was this really necessary, sir?"

"Riza . . ."

"Roy, I do know your name. Enough already, and answer the question," she said, feeling angry with him herself until she sighed, "He . . . She is his friend, one of the few friends either of the Elrics have outside of the military. Whether he admits it or not, the only reason they both still think of Rizembool as home at all is because of her . . . What if doing this damages that relationship?"

"How long have we been friends, Riza?"

"Seven years, I think?"

"And how many times have we either argued, lied to one another, hidden something, or just been in danger together?"

"Too many . . ."

"And we're still . . . friends right?"

"Considering where you've been sleeping recently, I would hope so," she said with a small smile, watching as he grinned, "I see your point, but I can't help but wonder. She is a civilian after all, and while she may be tough, is she that strong to withstand gunfire and mortal peril?"

Roy smiled at her, reaching across the table to grasp the blonde's hand. His fingers touched her palm, feeling the rough calluses from the guns she wielded, "I don't know her well . . . but she always did sort of remind me of a younger version of you . . ."

Riza blushed and smiled anyway, letting him drag her chair closer to his as they watched the door. Leaning over, he buried his nose in her hair, murmuring slightly as he ruminated over the kid's words. Parents, huh? He hadn't thought of that before as the notion itched in a long forgotten part of his head. "Do you think I'd make a good dad?" he asked suddenly, his voice low and full of curiosity.

The blonde did a double-take at him, not believing that he would ask such a thing now of all times. She hadn't given the thought of what she'd do as a mother much thought, and she'd spent even less worrying about what Roy would be like as a father. That was a very surreal thought the more she did think about it. Maybe they weren't cut out to be parents at all. Their lives belonged to the military, not each other, for now at least. But . . . it was a nice little daydream. Riza smiled slightly, one that slowly twitched st her lips until she was grinning. A light giggle issued from her throat, and he growled, frowning until she answered, "You'd make a fine dad, just don't be too eager to find out."

"Why's that?"

"Did you ever ask Maes what was the first thing was that went away when Gracia had Elysia?"

"No . . . what was it?"

"The sex."

A look of distaste crossed Roy's face so quickly that she burst out laughing, giggling madly as it turned into a scowl. "This isn't funny, Riza," he muttered, yanking her even closer, "That's one thing I'm not giving up, ever."

She could feel his grin at the base of her neck before his teeth nipped her skin, making her squirm, "Bastard."

"That's Colonel Bastard, seems like you need another lesson in that along with calling me 'sir' all the damned time."

"Whatever you say . . . sir."

* * *

Ed was lying back on the bed, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. He hated it when they manipulated him, but it was even worse when they ordered him. Why did they have to drag Winry into this? He wanted to protect her from all this, which was why he rejected the similar idea she had last night. How was he ever going to lie to her about this? The sinking feeling he'd had all day came back, coupled with more guilt. This was going to end in nothing good, and he knew it. Lying and taking her unwittingly into danger, two things he never wanted to do to her. Maybe there was a bright side to all this. It would be nice to have her around after he missed her so much, and she certainly missed him too. He'd also get to take her on a date . . . sort of. Ed sighed again, and turned towards the phone where it sat on the nightstand beside him. This was torture. Every time he'd tried to pick it up, he put it back down as his mind tossed. He'd already done that four times and nearly dialed once. "Damn it . . ." he cursed, slamming a fist into the mattress underneath him, "I can do this . . . I was ordered to do this . . ."

Mustering up the resolve, Edward grabbed the phone, dialing in the Rockbell's number on the rotary as fast as his fingers could move. The line crackled then rang, each sound making him more nervous as he muttered to himself, "When she finds out, she's going to kill me."

On the third ring, he heard it being picked up, followed by Pinako's craggy voice, "Rockbell Automail of Rizembool."

"Uhh, Granny?"

"Edward? Oh for heaven's sake, what did you break now?"

"Um, nothing, can I talk to Winry . . . please?" he asked, his nervousness doubled. There was a low, thoughtful hum on the other end of the line from the old woman before he heard her shout her ward's name. After a crackle of movement, a breathless voice spoke into the phone, "Hello?"

"Winry?"

"Ed! Uh, this is a surprise. Why are you calling now? Isn't it a bit early?" she asked before he heard an irritated murmur, "You broke something, didn't you?"

"You know, it's very annoying that both you and your grandmother assume I break something every time I call . . ."

"When do you call otherwise? Except perhaps to wake me from my slumber?"

"Winry . . ."

"What do you want, Ed? It's only mid-afternoon, and I was working with a new client. If this is a social call, so help me I will break a part of you myself," she threatened, sounding tired before she sighed, "Sorry . . . I'm a little grouchy after last night, and sleeping on the kitchen counter hasn't improved my mood."

"It's ok, I understand, it's just . . ." he started before stopping. How was he every going to put this? He could hear the fake words in his head, and it sounded all wrong. She'd never buy it in a million years if he was just suddenly out of danger. There had to be a way out of this. Exhaling to calm his nerves, he started again, "Do you remember what you asked me last night, about coming to Central to visit?"

"How could I forget? But you're right. It probably isn't a good idea if you're in danger and hiding . . . why do you ask?"

"Well . . . according to the Colonel, he thinks it's over, but wants me to stay here longer, and he said it wouldn't hurt if I invited a friend for company since Al isn't here with me," Ed said with a rush of pride despite the lie. Somehow, pinning the blame all on Mustang made him feel a hell of a lot better if something went wrong. It was two birds with one stone. If something did happen, she'd be more likely to knock out the bastard rather than him, and it would serve him right to get a wrench to the head for once. There was a squeal of excitement on the other end of the line, "You mean it?! Really?! I can come?!"

"Yes, really, but there's more to it than that."

"Oh, like what?"

"Well, you mentioned last night about a date too, so . . ."

"Oh my God . . . Edward Elric, are you asking me out on a date?!" Winry shouted into the phone in barely contained astonishment. Despite himself, he grinned and went quiet as he imagined the look on her face. He could almost see her blue eyes shining at him, and it melted his heart, "Yeah, you could say that . . ."

There was an excited shriek through the phone, and his grin widened until it faltered slightly. Oh, was he ever going to get it if and when the plan went downhill. She may have been the happiest girl in Amestris at that moment but as soon as she found out that she'd been tricked, he would be mincemeat. A low purr came from her voice, bring his guilty conscience back to the conversation at hand, "So, what kind of date is this?"

"Um, actually, it's an invitation to a ballet performance from the Colonel, and I sort of need to bring someone so . . ."

"I never imagined you had it in you . . ." she said wistfully as he blushed, "I've never been to the ballet. I never thought you'd take me anywhere let alone there, I'm . . . honored you'd ask."

"Well, you know . . . it shouldn't be that much of a stretch, I mean, I do love you after all . . ."

"I could kiss you within an inch of your life right now, you know that?"

His grin widened to previously unknown proportions at the implication, "Yeah, I kind of figured that . . . should I take that as a yes?"

"Do you even have to ask?! Of course yes! Yes! I'll be on the next train out!"

"Winry, hold on, you don't have to leave right now, just be on the first train out tomorrow, we'll pick you up . . ." Ed said as he started to think more, "Um, you have a dress right? This is sort of something fancy I think, a premiere."

"Oh . . . I don't think have anything . . ." she sounded deflated as she spoke, the excitement gone. Damn, why did he have to ask that? He wanted her to be happy, not despondent about sticking out in the city. "Uhhh, I'll think of something, even if I have to buy it," Ed said as he thought fast, "I probably owe you a lot for spare parts, and since you and your grandmother refuse to tack on a profit to my automail, you deserve it. Besides, I don't even know what I'll wear yet."

There was another low, thoughtful hum through the phone line, this one more pleasurable sounding as it raised the hair on the back of his neck. She was thinking of something. "Winry?" he asked nervously, "Do I want to even know?"

"Maybe, I was just imagining how you'd look in a tuxedo," she giggled as he grumbled. Soon enough, the mental image popped up into his head as well, and he didn't like what he saw. Ed sighed in frustration, only turning her slight giggles into soft laughter, "I don't know about this. I'll look like a midget in a gorilla suit."

Her laughter turned louder, hysterical. Realizing what he said, the young alchemist smacked his hand across his eyes, groaning, "One day, Winry! One day I'll be tall and I won't think like this! I swear! I'll even be taller than you!"

"Sure you will, and when it happens, you'll still go nuts when someone taller than you calls you short."

"I do not have a height complex . . ."

"And pigs fly."

Ed groaned again, giving in, "Fine, fine, still . . . if it's any consolation to this argument, no matter what you wear, you'll still look better than me."

"I beg to differ. I bet your butt will look rather cute in a nice fitting tuxedo."

His blush went all the way up his ears, turning bright red. He was cute? Or at least his posterior was cute? He didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted since it sure sounded like both. "Cute is for girls . . ." he grumbled as she giggled.

"Alright, then here's a better one. I think you'll look rather sexy all dressed up, mature even."

The color of his face started to border on purple, "Geez, Winry, you know just how to make a guy feel all better."

She laughed, and he smiled. As much as he could deny it all he wanted, he was still deeply flattered by her compliment, deeply. He almost forgot entirely of the whole aspect of impending assassination attempts hanging over him. "It is the truth you know. If I didn't find you the least bit appealing aesthetically, you'd be nothing more than an angry, guilt-ridden pip-squeak with an overconfidence problem," she said, her tone sarcastic despite the harsh words before she added, "But we both know that's not true. You are far more than the sum of your deficits."

There it was again, that feeling of being complimented and insulted at the same time, "How in the world do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Tear me down and then built me up again. I don't get it."

"Edward . . . I love you . . ." Winry said softly, as if those three words were the answer to each of his problems, "You are handsome, in your own way. When you do grow up, you'll be gorgeous, and you'll be all mine."

He grinned, the blush having cooled down to a tinge of pink all over his face. Maybe those three words were the answer to some of his problems at least. "Thank you, I can't wait to see you all grown up either. I'm sure you'll be even more beautiful than you are already," he said with a mental pat on his back for the honest compliment to her, "I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright . . ." she said with a slight vacancy in her voice, sounding stunned, "Um, right, tomorrow, bye, Ed."

"Bye, Winry."

The phone line clicked as it was hung up, and he sighed, "Damn . . . damn, damn, damn."

She was going to kill him, he just knew it. Slowly, he reached over and put the receiver back down on the telephone's base. It was too late now, and he felt torn between feeling like a fool and a coward for deceiving her. He really didn't deserve her love if he was using her like this. Was he using her, or was it the military? Maybe it was a bit of both in the end. Mustang ordered him and he followed, yet it was all for his safety. No where in that devil's bargain did it mention Winry's safety. Ed rolled on the bed to face away from the phone as he curled up. He missed her. He missed Al too. Something told him his brother would have made a good conscience right about now, telling him he was an idiot for getting their best friend involved. He was an idiot alright. Fate always seemed to find a way to mess with him, and he was giving that unknown force over his life a very big piece to mess with. Glowering darkly, he muttered to himself, "I know I don't believe in you, but God, if you really exist, don't let anything bad happen to her? Please?"

* * *

Edward didn't emerge from the bedroom until it was about dinner time, dragging the phone behind him. Roy was at the table, writing again. It was probably a report about the day as he still had to write his. He couldn't see the Lieutenant, but upon hearing the steady knife falls hitting on wood in the kitchen, he knew she was cooking. The Colonel looked up as he placed the phone on the table, a question in his dark eyes. "It's done," FullMetal muttered darkly, his voice only picking up a little as he continued, "She'll be here tomorrow morning."

For once, Mustang didn't grin or smile, just nodded as he spoke, "Nothing will happen to her, Edward, I promise."

"Like hell it won't, her safety isn't for you to promise over. Just worry about keeping me safe since she's the only other person besides my brother I'd give my life for . . . Don't think for a moment that I wouldn't do just that for her sake," Ed said in a rare moment of clarity as he sat down. Roy looked into his eyes a moment and nodded, knowing that for once there was an agreement between them. Whether he said it out loud like Edward or not, he too had someone else that he applied the same ideal to. It was kind of ironic, or so the Colonel thought, that it took this situation and two different women for them to come to a truer understanding. Maybe Ed was growing up after all. Before either of them could say any more, Riza walked out of the kitchen juggling three bowls of ramen in her hands. She was dressed again, this time in a black turtleneck shirt and dark blue pants with her hair clipped up. Carefully, she set the food down, then came back with three cups, utensils, and a hot pot of tea before sitting down, "You two better be hungry, I think I made too much."

"Don't worry, I think bottomless pit Elric can pack it all in."

"Asshole."

"Runt, you should eat more anyway, it'll help you grow."

A flash of anger crossed Ed's amber eyes, an air of violence building around him. "Boys . . ." she threatened before it could blow up into another battle, frowning disapprovingly, "I swear the longer you both stay here, the more you both fight just to annoy me."

Ed scowled and dug in, missing the grin on Roy's face. Riza didn't miss it as she kicked him under the table until he yelped. That was one thing the young alchemist didn't fail to notice with a snort of laughter, slurping his noodles. By the time they were all done eating, there were still lingering questions about the whole plan. He'd made it sound so simple earlier, but knowing the Colonel, there had to be things he wasn't telling them. Neither of them decided to ask, even when given an opening as he asked, "What time will she be here tomorrow?"

"Early, I told her to get on the first train out of Rizembool, so . . . early to mid morning maybe?"

"I'll get my car prepped to pick her up," Riza said as she started to clear away the dishes. Edward nearly frowned at how easily she volunteered, part of him wanting to go too so he could talk to her without his pseudo-bodyguards present. Whether he intended it or not, she saw the disappointed look on his face and it brought a warm smile to hers, "I expect you both to get up early, we don't want to be late."

That cheered him back up, and was even better as Roy grumbled in annoyance, "We still need to do some planning while she's here. I need to head home to get more clothes, FullMetal will need a tux, and the ladies will need gowns plus whatever else is attached with it. Riza . . ."

"I have something, but we may need to hire jewelry. My income isn't as lavish as your paychecks, Roy. Shouldn't we be worrying about the actual mission aside from the incidentals?"

"Maes is getting us maps of the building, and Havoc is working on getting any equipment we need, just need to fill out the forms. I suppose you'll have a list for the armory by tomorrow. The ballet hasn't been alerted since the less people knowing about this the better. No one in Headquarters knows of this plan outside of our department either. Everything's being cooked again just in case. Hell, I even had the tickets charged to me personally so it didn't look suspicious. We'll be using my funds for these incidentals too, so make wise investments on my part please, darling?"

"Winry will need a gown, and whatever else. I'll pay for it."

Roy's eyebrows arched up in surprise, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I figure if you're making me drag her into this mess, I can at least spare her from falling victim to your taste in women's clothes as well."

Riza snorted in laughter, covering her mouth with her hand to keep it from bursting out loud. The Colonel growled, turning towards her, "Make sure you take her to the most expensive dressmaker in town then, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir," she answered with a slight edge of sarcasm on her reply. Ed smirked, knowing that was coming. He didn't mind it though. As long as Winry was happy, so was he. And yet, it brought up another question that lingered in the back of his mind, "Um, won't we need a hotel room for her? I . . . I don't mind giving up my bed if she has to stay here."

The two adults looked at each other, silently asking the same question of the other with their eyes. Apparently in all their eagerness, that was one detail they'd forgotten. "Well . . . damn, that isn't going to work out too good . . ." Roy said, for once not thinking that far ahead.

As if struck with a bolt of lightning, Riza sat up straighter suddenly, "Oh . . . there's an idea . . ."

The alchemists looked at her curiously at first then skeptically as the grin on her face moved into viciously vindictive territory. She stood up suddenly, and headed for the door. Seeing his mistress stand, Black Hayate got up from around his empty dog bowl, and followed her, whining curiously. She smiled back at the men, her eyes dancing with mirth and malice, "Gentlemen, if you would, I'll require your assistance."

"I don't like the sound of this . . ." Roy said as he slowly stood up. Ed nodded, and followed as well. She was too happy about this for some reason. It made them both apprehensive. "You know, for once we agree," FullMetal muttered as he went out the door as well.

* * *

In the end, Riza's plan for Winry's accommodations was actually quite beautiful. Who knew the old lady that was her neighbor kept such a nicely appointed apartment? It only needed too a few transmutations to hide the most obvious things such as photos, documents, and personal items. The most time consuming alchemy they did was figuring out a way to connect the Lieutenant's apartment to the other woman's so that it appeared natural. When they were finished, it looked like she had lived here all along in one big place. "Your neighbor is going to kill us if she arrives back early," Roy said as he looked over the place, "Who was she again?"

"Some old busybody, you should be grateful. She's seen you sneaking around here, and didn't like you."

"Yeah, what did she call him again, some shady fellow?" Ed asked ruefully as the Colonel glared at him, "We should have done this yesterday when she left, then maybe these cats wouldn't have scratched me."

It was with no small amount of sadistic glee that he knelt down over the large wooden kennels built into the wall of the nearly empty side room. In each pen was a cat that glared back through narrow slits at him and Hayate as they cackled and yipped in victory over the feline beasts. The only one who didn't seem to take the confinement well was a large ginger one with white paws and ear tuffs that clawed out at them with a feral snarl that the teenager and the puppy ignored. Roy frowned at the antics of the two, still feeling the sting of claws on his arms where he had wrestled that one into its cage to begin with. "FullMetal, leave the cats alone, or else they'll probably gnaw their way out while we sleep just to find you, and filet you alive," he said, looking at the creatures darkly himself, "You're just annoying enough that I'd do that to you too if I were a cat."

Grumbling at his fun being ruined, Ed stuck his tongue out at his superior, blowing raspberries. It didn't improve the Colonel's mood as his grumbling got louder. Before he could think of retribution, Riza tugged him towards the new doorway back to her side of the apartment. "Come on, soldier, you need to be patched up. Edward, it's getting late. Stop teasing the cats and go to bed," she said with a growing authority over them.

"Yes, Riza."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, they left, leaving the puppy to stare at the locked up cats. It was quite curious. Without the human's around, they'd calmed down enough to only hiss slightly at him. Maybe it was only the two-legged ones they didn't like, or the one that smelled of metal. He didn't see why not. He liked the metal one, even the petting despite the cold, unyielding hand. The pup leaned closer towards the ginger cat, Fluffy if he remembered right, the one who'd scratched him a long time ago when he was smaller. She'd stopped hissing and clawing, and it made him curious as he moved closer. It was like she wanted him for something. Before he knew it, a sharp claw flashed out at him, trying to swipe across his nose.

Hayate back-peddled with a startled yelp, barely avoiding the slash. He barked twice and the cat spat at him. With a growl, his little puppy mind made a decision to break his training just this once. Mistress wouldn't be happy, but it was just once. Holding his nose up high, he turned and raised a hind leg, marking his territory right in front of the cats' cages. A series of pissed-off hisses and spats came from penned-up beasts, shaking the kennels in their fury. With a yip, he ran off back down the hall and back to familiar ground. He never did like cats anyway.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 8, Mr. & Mrs. Smith 


	8. Mr & Mrs Smith

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 8 – Mr. & Mrs. Smith

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Dreximgirl. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

This winter in Central unlike any other seemed to be plagued with snow. It was getting to be routine for the all the citizens to wake up to a fresh dusting of snow on those bitterly crisp morning. That morning in particular was no different as the snow outside the train terminal was particularly deep but not fresh, already pockmarked by random trails of foot prints. It was a miracle their car didn't get stuck in it once they were parked by the main entrance of the station next to the curb. Roy and Riza stood next to each other, leaning against the metal doors painted a taupe that looked more like brown against the blue-white snow. They were both huddled under their long coats, scarves, and the Colonel with his hat, trying to look nonchalant and bored despite the cold and the waiting. "Explain to me again why we let the kid go get her on his own?" Mustang asked, refraining from frowning, "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of protection?

"Because, Roy, he asked us nicely to wait, and you didn't say no," she said with a smile, rubbing her arms through the sleeves of her dark grey wool longcoat to warm them up. It was too early for him to be this awake as he smirked, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black coat to hide his gloves. No, that wasn't the reason he let the Major pain-in-his-rear pick up the girl on his own. It was one look from her big, brown eyes that told him to do it even if he was against it. He was a fool, probably, but the nagging worry that had gotten to them since the first strike of the snipers had lifted that morning. It almost felt . . . normal. Given their lives in the past few days, that was a significant improvement. "If he isn't out in ten more minutes, we're going in," the Colonel muttered, "If only so I can warm up my toes."

She actually giggled at that, "You get cold too easily."

"Look who's talking, rub your arms anymore and you won't need me to set yourself on fire," he said with as grin while turning towards her despite the derisive sneer she gave him, "That's why I love your place, the great heating system. Even my house doesn't have that, it just has a lot of fireplaces."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? You know, you've never let me see your house."

"That's because once you do, you can never leave," he said with a grin, slowly putting an arm around her. Riza gave a long-suffering sigh while he pulled her against him until her elbow nudged his ribs. He frowned, loosening his grip slightly but not letting her go, "Where is that kid anyway?"

* * *

Ed paced back and forth on the platform, waiting for the train to roll in. It was late from when the scheduled arrival time was. What if it was snow bound? It was rather deep outside of Central after last nights minor storm. What if he was on the wrong platform? No, that wasn't possible. He'd double-checked that already. What if she took an earlier train, or a later one? Maybe he should have given her the number of Hawkeye's apartment? But then again, he didn't know the number to begin with. The young alchemist groaned, his breath coming out in a puff of moist steam. It was too cold to be waiting around like this, even inside the train station. He could almost feel the oil and lubricants in his automail turning to ice, which was part of why he kept moving. It wasn't because he was nervous or anything.

And yet, it was with that mixture of nervousness and cold that he shivered, continually pacing the platform. Edward put effort into getting dressed that morning, his braid neater and his long bangs brushed carefully so that they didn't look half as rumpled as normal, well, except for the damned cowlick he couldn't get to stay down ever. Under his brown overcoat he wore a black turtle neck sweater, and black pants, going back to normal dark on dark way of dressing. Winry didn't seem to mind, and it made him feel taller. Besides, it hid all the wet stains on pants from trudging through the snow outside. He was half tempted to flop down on one of the nearby benches when there was a whistle in the distance. Hanging over the edge of the platform, he could see the iron engine rumbling down the tracks with a large plume of white steam from the stacks.

He always did like trains. They were about the only way to travel cross country these days. Jumping back as the engine pulled in, he turned and ran down the length of the cars, looking for a familiar length of long, pale hair. And yet, he didn't see her anywhere. Ed was just about to the end of the train without seeing Winry at all when he heard a familiar shout, "Hey, alchemy-geek!"

Spinning around, he stopped as he saw her standing on the metal steps from one of the passenger cars. How long had it been since he'd seen her last? Three months? No, had to be longer, more like five, not since that summer maybe. Ugh, or was it only three? It didn't matter how long it had been. His heart still leapt up into his throat as if it had been an eternity. Edward smiled despite himself then squashed the flailing beat of his heart before he acted completely like a love-struck fool. But then again, that was exactly what he was in that moment, absolutely smitten. The blond girl quickly descended the steps with a giant hop, bouncing closer to him on the concrete platform. The hooded coat of light grey felted wool she wore stopped around mid-thigh on her, the long, flowing skirt of pale blue wool she wore underneath falling to the ankles of her black boots. She carried the same heavy duty toolkit and the same brown suitcase she always brought whenever she visited. Did she ever change? In his head, maybe not, but she always was seemingly a little bit older every time he saw her.

The smile on her face was so calming and attractive that it set his feet into motion, walking towards her without a second thought. What the hell was he going to say to her? For being a genius, the only things he could think to say sounded so corny he'd die of shame. Maybe he shouldn't say anything as the urge to kiss her was strong within him. Might be the only chance he got to kiss her without witnesses with waggling tongues watching. The closer he got to Winry, the more the unconscious smile he wore turned into a goofy grin. Words failed him, well, almost failed him as he finally worked up the nerve to speak, just not what he intended to say, "I, um, I was wondering when you'd get here, machine-freak."

Despite the nonchalant tone of Ed's voice, the power of her smile turned up to full brightness until she was absolutely radiating happiness. Suddenly, her suitcase and toolbox were on the ground and Winry was in his arms, nearly bowling him over. She kissed him as he stumbled back then tripped, pulling her down as well as he fell on his back. The tender moment was shattered completely as they knocked heads together in the crash. For a long moment, he went silent then groaned, a new sore on his rump as she laid sprawled on top of him, "Well, that was graceful . . ."

Above him, and pressed against into his stomach, she giggled, "Happy to see you too, Ed, miss me?"

"Like a tooth ache," he joked, getting an elbow in the ribs, "Ok, ok, I missed you, a lot, Winry."

She was smiling beautifully down at him, and it made his heart skip a few beats. Thankfully, it was jump-started again as she kissed him lightly on the lips. How could he not miss kisses like this especially in the cold of winter? He felt warm all over again in the gentle touch of her mouth, tilting his head to taste more of her. But then the girl pulled back as soon as his tongue felt hers. Instead, Winry laughed softly, bumping her nose against his, "I missed you too."

* * *

Roy fidgeted as his lips quirked into a smirk as they watched the entrance to the terminal still, "It's been ten minutes . . ."

"That cold?"

"Yeah, think I can put my hands inside your coat to warm them up?" he asked as he grinned lecherously, just short of wiggling his eyebrows at her. Or at least, he was grinning until her elbow nudged into his ribs again. "Damnit, Riza, you've been doing that to me all morning, was I not good last night or something?" Mustang asked with a frown, dead seriousness in his voice despite the choice of topic.

Her head turned towards him as she nearly gasped but glared instead, "You shouldn't be asking that in public, Roy, whatever happened to discretion?"

"It went out the same window with normalcy. Maybe we'll see it again before the year is out."

"God, I hope so," she said under her breath with a frown as she looked off into the distance. Slowly, his arm tried to creep around her shoulders, only to get elbowed again for his efforts. Finally, Roy had enough, concern mixing into his anger, "Are you alright? Can't I show some affection to you today? . . . I didn't do anything to upset you, did I?"

She glanced up into his dark eyes then sheepishly down at the snow, "Nothing, just felt like a payback for yesterday."

"You mean that little talk in the car? While driving to the bank?" he asked, the pieces of at least that little mystery fitting together. Riza's frown was all the answer he needed to know he was right. "Did you have to imply about my flow in front of those two and FullMetal?" she asked, bluntly.

"Would you rather I wasn't concerned?" Roy asked as he grudgingly shoved his hand back into his pocket, "It does take two of us to create life, remember."

"I know, but I've dealt with such problems already, so don't worry about it."

"You've 'dealt' with it?" he asked, looking at her skeptically and with a growing sense of dread, especially with the neutral expression on her face, "There something I should know?"

She wished he hadn't asked, but by now the conversation was entirely unavoidable as she spoke tersely, "I'm on herbal medicine for birth control, Roy. Most of the female officers went on it after Ishbal, so don't make it such a big deal. They did legalize it for all women last year so I doubt I'm alone. It isn't a catch all, but it's better than nothing. And above all, I made this choice before our relationship happened, if you must know. I just . . . wanted to be safe."

"I . . ." he started to say, but then again, what could he say? It was her body, not his no matter how much he thought he possessed her. Even if they legalized their union, she'd still never be his entirely as it was just the way she was. If there wasn't some spark of independence and stubbornness left in her, then she would be like every other woman he knew previously. But . . . he wished he would have known sooner, not that it would have changed anything. His eyes turned down towards the snow as a slight sadness settled over them. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, struggling to hold back the hurt tone in his voice.

"I never told you because you never asked. I assumed you took it for granted like you did everything else, so . . ." Riza said, the implied tone warding him off from asking further while wounding his pride too. That was harsh, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed true. He really was a bastard after all it seemed. Just as he was about to apologize though, she went on, "So . . . nothing will ever happen, not unless we choose it."

His mouth dropped open slightly. If he didn't know any better, he'd have thought that she was asking about kids, leaving that possibility wide open. Them with kids? As parents? It was a damned good thing he knew better. Slowly he exhaled, thankful that she didn't continue on that line of thought. No, her mind just jumped even further down the tracks as she spoke again, "Maybe it is better this way . . . Edward's right, we'd be horrible parents."

When she looked at Roy for a reply to her comment, the Lieutenant choked to keep from bursting out laughing as he looked about ready to drop from utter dismay. He shook his head at her, trying to deny that she had said that as he groaned in agony. Riza finally lost her composure and laughed out loud in his face. Despite the surreal-ness of the thoughts swirling in his head, Mustang stopped once she was laughing. The sound of happiness in her voice made everything seem better. He grinned as she couldn't stop, turning away from him and covering her face as every glance caused another peal of giggles to fall from her. Unable to contain himself, Roy pulled her into a hug, stopping the laughter with a kiss.

She still giggled even with the crush of his lips against hers, but didn't stop him either. Little by little she was losing that need for discretion, wanting more and more for him to kiss her like this in front of everyone. But, it seemed like it would never happen, not until he was Fuhrer or they were retired. Could she wait for him that long? Gradually, her voice dissolved into a low moan, the heat of his mouth in sharp contrast to the bitter winter cold of early morning. Yes, she knew she could wait for him, and it would be worth it. At least there was no one around, or so they thought.

There was a feminine giggle nearby, and the two officers instantly broke apart, ridged in cold and fright from getting caught. Winry stood in front of them in the snow, clutching her toolbox in one hand while hiding her grin and laughter behind the other. Ed stood next to her, struggling to tow a heavy brown suitcase behind him. Despite his difficulty, his grin was smug as he trudged up next to her, "See, I told you. They can't keep their hands off each other."

She only laughed harder as the adults glared imminent death at the young alchemist until she shoved him hard towards a snow pile in retribution. The glares softened into grateful and amused looks as Ed fell sprawling into the bank, leaving an imprint as he tried to get up, "Hey! What'd you do that for, you little grease monkey?! It's true!"

"Mind your manners, Ed," Winry said as she walked closer to the car, grinning, "Hasn't anyone taught you to respect the affairs of your elders?"

Suddenly the elders in question looked rather nervous as FullMetal snorted a small chuckle, grabbing the suitcase. Roy finally broke the silence that had fallen on them, taking off his hat and holding out his hand to take the girl's, "Miss Rockbell, my apologies you had to witness that. I hope your trip went well."

"Thank you, Colonel, but there's no need to apologize. I'm sure there are worse things to see than two people kissing," the mechanic said with a growing grin as a blush spread across his face and the Lieutenant's face. Ed came up behind her as she shook Mustang's hand, a flash behind his amber eyes along with a grim frown turning down the corners of his mouth. Roy had seen that look before, jealousy, and it was entertaining to think the kid possessed that ability. But then again, he was getting a similar if more well controlled glare from Riza the longer he held the girl's hand. Winry pulled her hand back before he did, and turned towards Hawkeye, smiling, "Lieutenant? It is nice to see you again."

"Miss Rockbell."

"Winry's fine," she said with a warm smile, ignoring both of the men for the moment, "Thank you for taking good care of Ed, ma'am. I know he's a handful."

A similarly warm smile crossed the older woman's face, "Riza's fine as well, there's no need for formality. You're right though, they're both handfuls, but I'm sure we'll be able to fix that once you're settled in."

Winry turned to the boy standing barely over her shoulder and flashed him a playful grin, one that made his eyes shoot open. She took the suitcase from him, and followed the Lieutenant around the car to the trunk, leaving them to stare at the women with bewilderment. "This can't be good," Ed muttered.

Roy nodded, "Not even a minute together, and they're already conspiring against us."

"'Us'? Since when was there an 'us'?"

"Men have to stick together, brat."

"Ha, just keep saying that, maybe it'll come true some day. In the meantime, I'll be busy laughing when she shoots you in the ass," Ed said with a smirk as he opened the door to get in the car. Mustang glared at him, the camaraderie broken. "You ungrateful little shit," he growled, bristling with anger as he put his hat back on, "I'll be laughing too when you get a wrench to the face."

For some reason, FullMetal's grin widened into mischievousness. He rolled down window, and leaned out while beckoning Roy closer. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but his curiosity won out as he bent down to Ed's short level. Chuckling madly, he whispered into the Colonel's ear, "If anyone's getting wrenched when this is over, it'll be you since I told her it was all your idea to invite her."

Roy's mouth dropped open in shock before his face contorted in anger. The grin on the young alchemist face went from ear to ear as he wanted nothing more than to smite that look away. Gah! He'd been had! Who knew the kid could be so devious when it came to saving his own skin? If it wasn't so pissed, he might have been proud of the back-handed tactic. Slowly, Mustang's dark eyes narrowed while the brat chuckled giddily. "Edward . . ." he said with a barely disguised edge of danger on his voice, "What's the melting point of automail?"

"Uhhhh . . ." Ed stammered as he slowly backed away from the window and across the car seat.

"Let's find out!" Roy shouted as he yanked the car door open and lunged to grab him. With a yelp, the boy flung the opposite side door wide and leaped out onto the street, taking off in a run with the Flame Alchemist right behind him. At all the shouting, the car trunk slammed shut as the two women watched them chase each other through the snow. Riza sighed, leaning over the back end of the car with her head in her hands. Winry looked on curiously, slightly worried for the other woman, "How long have they been like this?"

"Two days . . ."

"Rough . . . They haven't actually fought have they?"

"This would be the closest . . ." Riza said, watching the men run towards a patch of black ice that blended in with the snow, "Uhhh, Colonel? Colonel! Roy!"

It was too late as they slipped and fell over with a loud crack. Winry winced and sighed at the painful groaning, "It's a good thing I brought my tools . . ."

The Lieutenant made a noise in the back of her throat half-way between a groan and a sigh. So much for the truce between the two alchemists, but perhaps there never was one to start with. As the Rockbell girl went to go help them untangle themselves from the snow, ice, and each other, there was a prickle at the hairs on the back of her neck. In the excitement, she'd forgotten that she was supposed to still be on the look out. Riza glanced around the deserted street again then up towards the train terminal's roof. If she blinked, she could have sworn she saw a shadow up there. And yet as her eyes narrowed on the top of the glass and iron structure breaking the top of the building, she was sure that it was just an act of her paranoid mind after the day before. "No one's there . . ." she said aloud, just to reassure herself, "No one's there."

Roy groaned in the distance, "Hawkeye . . ."

"Coming, sir, don't move," she shouted across the way, scowling in annoyance as her voice dropped to mutter under her breath, "Or I'll shoot you myself, you dumb lug."

* * *

It was late afternoon when things had begun to resemble anything close to normalcy. The trip to the apartment had been somber after the spill on the ice. While the Colonel had taken a knock to the head resulting in a sizable lump, Edward walked with a new limp. Winry knew that meant he'd over-pulled the heel slides in his automail until they were locked. That was how he ended up sitting on the couch in the second part of the large apartment with the mechanic fussing over the metal foot in her lap. She sat before him on a small, padded ottoman, her tools scattered all over the floor along with the metal plating as she worked. A dingy rag covered the soft blue wool of her skirt, protecting it from the grease. Yet oil still ended up on her hands, smudged across her face, and spotted all over the thin shirt of lavender cotton knit she wore.

Occasionally, she stopped and glanced around the surroundings, the décor in the two areas as different as night and day. While the main rooms were rather sparsely decorated when she'd walked in, the further she got towards her assigned rooms, the more cheerful it became, which was so unlike the woman putting them up. She didn't know the Lieutenant could afford solid hardwood furniture on her pay compared to the two alchemists. Ed noticed her looking too, and just knew their charade would be up eventually unless he could lie to her, again. "I know what you're thinking, it is odd isn't it?" he asked as she unbolted one nut holding on a micro-slide piston.

The blonde looked up and nodded, "It's rather odd, like two apartments put together . . . I suppose someone before she moved in just wanted more room, and when they left, she got the furnishings too."

"Actually, she got a second apartment with the help of the Colonel, and he then transmuted them together," he admitted partially with a smirk. Winry giggled, not buying it for a moment as she went back to work. Ed sighed internally in relief, the questions avoided. With a grunt of effort, she pushed the slide back into its casing after he'd yanked it in the fall. It went back into place with a clink of metal, and she exhaled in relief, "You're lucky none of these have stuck given the cold and your recklessness," she said as she pulled out a bottle of oil, lubricating it until the metal slid easily, "Even goofing off you manage to wreck my hard work."

"I wasn't goofing off, I was about to teach that pyro a lesson," he grumbled as she smiled softly at him. Winry just shook her head and bolted the part back into place. "It would be more mature of you if you just ignored him, or at least didn't retaliate. I think he only picks on you because you always spazz at the slightest insult like the angry bean you are," she said with a slight giggle.

Ed glowered darkly at her, slouching back onto his right arm, "I am not a bean, grease monkey, and I'm not a spazz either . . . everyone else just ticks me off."

Despite his words, she still kept on smiling, performing the same procedure on another slide piston in the silence. He was still murmuring to himself, and Winry knew he was thinking of something. The sound was a dead give away whenever he was thinking of something other than alchemy. Her blue eyes flashed up to him and her smile turned into a bright grin, "What is it, Ed?"

"Do you really think if I stopped letting him get to me, he'd stop?"

"Yes, but then again you'd be closer to being an adult. I don't know if I'd like that. I still like the kid in you that I remember."

His other foot nudged her ankles as she giggled, "You're not so mature yourself, so stop pretending that you are. I refuse to allow you to be wiser and more mature than me."

Winry's grin was still in place, unfazed by his threat as she changed the topic, "How have the sensors been working?"

"Good, want to check them too?"

Without warning, her fingers slid up the inside of his metal calf through his dark pants. Ed flinched at the gentle sensation, his leg jumping in her lap, "Gah! Ok! They work! Don't do that!"

The mechanic giggled, "Of course they work. I knew that, I just wanted to see you squirm."

"Evil, torturous little sneak," he grumbled as she started to screw the plates back onto his heel. Whatever he called her, Winry didn't seem to mind, humming slightly as she went about her work.

* * *

Roy grumbled from the dining room table, holding a chuck of ice wrapped in a damp rag over his forehead, "You know steaks are better for this."

From the kitchen, Riza laughed softly, working on peeling potatoes with a knife, "And spoil supper? I'm not wasting good meat on your foolishness. You shouldn't have been chasing him anyway. You're a grown man for goodness sake, but you're so . . . childish sometimes."

He did nothing but smirk at her criticism, "So I stooped to his level, once. It won't happen again. Besides, I'm sure he's getting more torture out of the mishap from his mechanic than I am."

She turned away, hiding the grin on her face from his comment while throwing away the waste. Somehow she doubted that given the lack of pained screams coming from the other side of the apartment where they'd left the mechanic girl to work on him. No, she didn't believe that for a moment. In fact, she had to wonder a moment if it was a good idea to leave them be for the completely opposite reason. The blonde woman nearly blushed at that stray thought, working on peeling another potato faster in distraction. No, no, no, she would not think that! And yet . . . it was rather odd exactly how friendly the two teenagers had been in the car . . .

Suddenly, Riza Hawkeye was very grateful their bedrooms were on opposite sides of the newly conjoined apartments. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll make sure they're ok once the meat is cooking," she announced out loud if only to sooth her thoughts.

"Tickets came in today according to Havoc, Falman will drop them off tomorrow with some more papers for us," Roy said, changing the topic as she worked.

"Who's names did you put on them for our young companions?"

"Mr. Johnson and Miss Doe?"

"Roy . . . you should have let me pick, that's horrible of you . . . I shudder to think what you did with ours."

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith?"

The knife in Riza's hand slipped, almost catching on her finger until she got control of it again after a moment. She glared at him in shock, slowly turning cherry red to the roots of her hair. He chuckled and then ducked as she threw the root vegetable in his direction. Of course he had lied to her. The tickets were actually for Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mustang, but she didn't need to know that quite yet.

* * *

Finished, Winry let his foot slip off her lap as she stretched. The mechanic then stood up only to plop back down on the couch next to Edward. "Let me see the arm," she ordered, tugging on his black sweater.

He complied without argument, pulling the garment over his head before tossing it down next to him. No matter how many times they'd done this before, a small thrill still ran through her each and every chance she got to see him half-naked under the pretense of automail examinations. The metal was always as perfect as his flesh, so much muscle packed in such a small, scarred body. Even the tiny lines of angry red scratches on his arm looked fitting. How he ever did it she'd never know, but she still loved to look at him. Ed didn't blush this time under her scrutiny, but poked her out of her fixated stare as she twitched.

Normally Winry wasn't this bad about hiding that look she always got around him. It was a look of many things, a mixture of adoration, worship, desire, and love in her deep blue eyes, and it was gratifying to see. And yet, he had to wonder at how often he had missed it before during all these times when she played doctor over his limbs. The first time he'd probably ever noticed a hint of it was during the overhaul, but had he always looked at him like that? Maybe he was oblivious after all, but it didn't matter anymore if she kept on looking at him and only him like that.

Winry blushed slightly before turning her attention back to his arm, where it should have been as she scolded herself internally. Sitting in silence, the alchemist watched her move to kneel beside him, looking at her looking at him. She was trying so hard not to be distracted by him that she was unintentionally distracting him from doing anything but following the blue of her eyes, and the fleet work of her fingers.. Roughly fifteen minutes into her examination of the arm, she stopped, huffing in exasperation, "Would you quit it? I can feel those eyes of yours all over me, and it's . . ."

She sighed and went back to work as if she'd said nothing. A grin cropped up on his face as his voice dropped low to ask, "Nervous?"

Winry nearly dropped the tube of oil she held and looked at him, a flash of annoyed anger in her eyes. "Nervous? What's there to be nervous about?" she asked back with an edge of defiance in her voice until it deflated, "You know, just haven't seen you in a few months, talking about all sorts of indecent things on the phone. Now here we are, sitting in an unfamiliar apartment while trying to fix you, and you keep staring at me as if you're going to eat me."

Ed's grin widened as she gave a short gasp at the unintended words, turning bright red. Now that she'd mentioned it while they were alone, that didn't sound like a bad idea. "Is that a wish or a fear? To be devoured?" he asked, the sound of his voice like electricity on her nerves.

The seed of nervousness she had been feeling and denying as soon as he took off his shirt welled up in the pit of her stomach. It didn't help that his amber eyes took on exactly the look she'd ascribed to them, the golden flecks dancing in hunger. The nervousness flared into desire, and she suddenly felt famished herself. "If I say yes, do I get to eat you too?" Winry asked, grinning just as much as he was.

Edward grabbed her hand suddenly as she dropped the closed oil container. He pulled her closer and turned until she was pressed against him. She hadn't even realized his metal arm was around her back until it was there, grasping her neck and drawing her head in towards his lips. His mouth touched hers gently, warm and only growing warmer as her head tilted to the side of its own accord. It was an invitation to more she'd unconsciously became used to giving to him. Ed's arms moved down her back and shoulders, accepting it as his tongue slipped into her mouth. An inaudible sound came from the back of her throat, blooming into a louder moan the more she pressed back. Winry's hands tangled in his near-perfect braid, ruining it, but he didn't care. It only encouraged him more as the kiss hardened.

Her mouth made good on its promise, consuming him as much as he consumed her. Her hand yanked sharply on his hair, forcing his head up as her kiss ravaged his mouth. She was taking over again for the both of them. For a twinge of a second he felt nervous himself. There was always something about her in control that made him feel small. Not this time. With a grunt of effort, Ed grabbed her shoulders and twisted, pulling her down. Winry looked up at him as she was laid across his lap, rendered helpless to touch him in this position. His mouth didn't let up, pulling away from the barest of breaths as she struggled under him, squirming in need.

His metal hand slid around the side of her torso and she froze, feeling exposed and vulnerable despite still wearing all her clothes. She could feel the cold metal lift up the front of her shirt slightly followed by the fingers she'd crafted slipping under her skirt, then under her underwear. Her back arched in his lap the closer his hand got to touching her, and louder too even if her cries were muffled by his mouth. All of Winry's incessant squirming and struggling only hardened his desire and longing. He wanted her, badly, if the growing bulge in his pants had anything to say about it. The heart beat in his ears was so loud that he could barely hear the foot steps from the hallway. Wait, footsteps?

Edward's hand slipped so quickly and roughly that she yelped, going from bliss to annoyance in record time, "What the-?"

And then she heard the sound from the hall too.

Winry jumped off of his lap quickly only to slip and fall onto the carpeted floor. Normally, he would have been very concerned for her if he wasn't struggling to get his sweater back on. The mechanic didn't act injured at all as she scrambled to clean up the tools all around her. Ed had barely managed to tuck his shirt back into his pants when Lieutenant Hawkeye walked into the room and stopped dead at the scene. Were they caught? Maybe they were. Winry looked pretty frightened when she saw the other woman, but then again, so was he probably as his face tightened. "Am I interrupting something?" Riza asked, eyeing them both suspiciously.

"No-."

"No, I was just finishing up. Edward should be fine now unless he slips on ice again," Winry said with a smile that reached up to her eyes, "Maybe next time he'll be more fortunate to crack his head instead."

"Hey!" he yelled as she giggled, whacking him with a handy wrench on his real knee as he jumped from the pain, "Ouch! Quit hitting me!"

The mechanic girl stuck her tongue out at him, and Riza bought it all, smiling as she turned away to go back down the hall. "Dinner will be ready soon, don't take too long," she said after before disappearing from where she came.

As soon as the woman was gone, Winry let out the breath she'd been holding, "Explain to me again why we shouldn't let them know we're more than just friends?"

"Because I'd never hear the end of it from the Colonel?"

"Why is it any of his business given what you've told me about what he does with Riza?"

"Because he'd tell the office too, and all those guys would eventually tell Al . . ."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

That was a thought he'd given time in his head before. It still didn't sit right with him to let his younger brother know that he was sleeping with their childhood best friend, not when his brother didn't stand a chance with her himself. The pitiful look on Edward's face was enough to tell her that the answer to her question wasn't worth prolonging an argument. And yet, it still nagged at her insecurity, "You're . . . not ashamed of me are you?"

A look of dismay came over the alchemist's face, and he shook his head violently before asking, "Winry? How can you even think that? Why would I ever be ashamed of you?"

"Because you don't want anyone finding out we're together . . ." she said, not holding back on the hurt tone as she went back to cleaning up, ignoring him. Winry heard him get up from the couch and felt his presence over her shoulder before his hands on her. Edward slowly drew her to her feet then wrapped his arms over her body. Slowly, she relaxed and melted into the embrace, shivering as his breath tickled the fine hairs on the back of her neck. His face nuzzled close to the side of her neck, his nose rubbing against her metal earrings as he whispered, "I love you, and one day, when everything I've done has been fixed, then the world will know how much, just wait for me."

A beautiful smile he couldn't see spread across Winry's face, "You know just how to make a girl feel better."

Pulling away momentarily, she spun around in his arms and kissed him, quick and hard before he even stood a chance of moving or responding. Moments later, she was gone from Edward's hold and dancing across the floor with a bounce in her step as she moved towards the hallway. He stood there, stunned, helpless to do anything as she giggled at him. It took her voice teasing him with his own name to break him out of the reverie, "Edward . . ."

He turned to face her, the dumbest grin ever on his face as she continued, "Time for dinner, short-stuff."

The insult never even registered in his brain. She could have called him the shortest short-short that was even short, and he probably could have taken it as a compliment. Edward didn't even seem to care about dinner . . . so long as he got Winry for dessert. "And after?" he asked, the hungry look back in his amber eyes as she giggled.

Slowly, her grin diminished into a gentle smile even if her blue eyes promised much more while moving down the hall, "Tonight, leave your door open a little."

The dumb grin only got stupider as he followed her, "Aren't you worried about getting caught?"

"Somehow, I think our supposed guards will be too busy with each other, wouldn't you agree?"

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 9, Deep Throat 


	9. Deep Throat

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 9 – Deep Throat

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story, of which there's a lot in this chapter. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: The authoress is taking a break from the plot for the length of one chapter to bring you . . . smut, like the title alone didn't allude to that. This chapter is entirely avoidable, but heck, no matter how many warnings or disclaimers I give, no one seems to listen. So you might as well sit back and enjoy it! Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

After finally finishing the dishes and reorganizing the over-crowded dining room table, Riza Hawkeye took one survey of the apartment, and declared it a disaster area. Paperwork flooded her once clean desk. Her neat row of hooks by the door was overflowing with winter coats. And to top it all of, after the night's mishaps, automail tools were suddenly lying around everywhere. How Edward managed to over-extend his shoulder when he took Hayate for a walk along with Winry, she'd never know. Maybe it had something to do with the snow the pair was covered in when they came back. Mustang had insisted on letting the kids go alone, as an experiment to see if anything would occur. It hadn't, and for her worrying over their safety, she got a wet floor that needed mopping. She was too weary to clean it up or even tell any of them to do it instead.

Giving up, Riza plopped down in a chair by the table with a sigh. Since when had her life become so . . . domestic? It was a thought that brought an irritated furrow to Hawkeye's brow. She didn't like being domestic. It made her feel so old, something she sure she wasn't. There was a time and a place for being all family-like, and as long as both Roy and herself were in the military, this wasn't it. She never should have given thought to the possibility of children, no matter how many times they had mused on it already. And yet, the subject brought a smile to her face, remembered when he had asked if he'd be a good father with such innocence to the notion that he could be. Perhaps it was a good thing she had picked a man in her life that could be sensible, childish, and unpredictable as hell at the same time. He would certainly never make her life boring. Roy was a good man at heart, which was what she cared about the most.

Slowly, Riza rose up from the chair, side-stepping a wrench in her path towards the bedroom door. The Colonel had already gone into the bedroom a few minute or so before her after tending to the cats, seeing the children to their separate rooms, and then locking down the entryway doors and windows. She had been tempted to tell him to lock the doors of the young alchemist's and his friend's rooms as well, but that would have given voice to her suspicions. The teenagers had lied to her when she had obviously walked in on them earlier, so she assumed correct that the nature of their relationship was not for public dissection.

And yet, it made her curious why not. They certainly didn't have enemies to worry about, did they? And why was she so curious to know to begin with? The discovery of phone call yesterday morning pretty much answered her question of something occurring between the pair, didn't it? To ask FullMetal outright would be prying too much. No, she was certain that no matter the state of the relationship between Edward and Winry, she didn't want to know about it or even acknowledge it. To do otherwise, as she opened the door to see Roy getting undressed in the dim light from the dark windows, would be to acknowledge their own hypocrisy of secrecy.

He had turned to look at her as she entered the bedroom from over his shoulder, bent over to pick up his discarded black pants, "Tired of cleaning for the night? Or just coming to admire the view?"

The grin on his face was beyond incredulous at her uncomfortable blush, enjoying the way she quickly closed the door and skittered sideways towards her closet. Riza ignored the shameless come-on entirely, "I thought you promised to help clean up? You and Edward make such unpleasant house guests."

His grin faltered into a frown as he dropped the pants to spite her, and stood up. She smiled to herself, knowing he wasn't pleased that she side-stepped his advances. Turned away from him, she pulled the clip free from her pale hair, shaking out the fluid length. Riza set the object down on the small vanity she kept then turned to go through her clothes as she spoke, "Tomorrow, please keep the mess down? And take care of that pile of laundry?"

"When I'm not dealing with the office or Falman when he visits, sure," Roy said as she also heard him shuffling around, probably throwing his clothes into the ever expanding pile on her bedroom floor. At least he kept his laundry by his pack and not in with her things in the wash hamper. "Could just alchemize them like the kid does, I bet that lazy brat hasn't done laundry in years," he muttered as she laughed lightly.

Without turning around, she bent down to pull off the modest black boots she wore, followed by her socks. It was hard for Riza to resist the urge to look over her shoulder, feeling his eyes roam over her feet then up her legs to settle on the curve of her rear. She was torn between being flattered and annoyed. He didn't change at all, no matter how many times they'd seen each other stark naked. She just knew that if the two adolescents weren't around for this mini-holiday, or the prevailing sense of danger, he would see to it that she didn't remain clothed for longer than an hour at a time. "Roy, don't you ever get tired of being, well . . . a horny bastard?" she asked as an annoyed tone crept into her voice.

"Around you? Perish the thought," he answered, and she knew he was grinning as he said that, "Besides I did restrain myself last night, didn't I?"

She snorted in derision, "Barely."

"Does this mean you're finally getting tired of me, darling?"

His question brought a smile to her lips as she slipped open the hook at the top of her calf-length dark grey skirt then slid the zipper down. "Perish the thought."

As soon as the garment hit the floor, Riza looked down to see a pair of dark blue boxers land at her feet. "I still wonder where discretion went," she said aloud as Roy chuckled, "I'm not joking either, both of them know now for sure. It's only a matter of time before someone higher up puts all the pieces together of you staying night after night in my apartment."

"Like I keep telling you, Havoc is cooking all the reports that get turned in, so can't you enjoy this, us, being together, just once?" He asked as she stood there, unmoved. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she unbuttoned her dark blue collared shirt before hearing his feet on the floor. A hand was at the small of her back suddenly, and her eyes darted up towards the full-length mirror hanging by the closet door. Roy stood over her shoulder, his hand slowly coming round her waist to stop hers on the last button. "I . . ." Riza started to say but the words stuck in her throat when he pulled her back into the rest of his arms.

Leaning against Roy's hard chest didn't make the words come out any easier, nor did his hands moving inside of her shirt help. He brushed the collar aside with his face, running his lips delicately over her throat with a low hum. She shuddered out the breath she'd been holding, the reflection of him touching her in the mirror too much to take as her brown eyes closed. "I . . ." she tried to say again with mounting frustration as the words still stuck.

His kisses on the bend of her neck stopped, "What is it, Riza?"

"I wish . . . we didn't have to sneak around like this . . ." she said as she opened her eyes again and looked at his dark pair in the reflection, "I feel like . . . like we'll never be together the way we want to be . . ."

"Don't say that," Roy whispered in her ear, his voice harsher than normal. "I don't care if we ever make it official. As long as you're still mine, it is enough for me."

Her skin turned bright red in the darkness, the possessiveness in his words striking her deeply. What was she now to him, just an object to have and hold? It angered her a moment until she looked back into his eyes through the mirror. All it took was one look of adoration from him to know that he wasn't speaking purely in heated lust. A delicate shiver ran through her and she pushed her hips back into his. Roy shuddered out a breath, surrendering to the feeling clenching his chest that his words worked both ways. Slowly, a wicked grin moved up her lips as she looked through the reflection. He was as much hers if not more so that she was his, a fact that was reflected in her eyes. Riza's hand traced up his forearm as he held her tighter, burying his face in her yellow hair. "The same principals better apply to you as well and not just me, this . . ." she said as her hands drifted behind his back to his rear, groping him, "This is mine tool."

He growled at the touch as his control snapped, suddenly thrusting her towards the mirror. His dark eyes were looking at her looking at him, and it lit an inferno in him, rapidly growing hard as he pressed forward against her. "Mine," Roy growled again, and her grip on him tightened.

Riza gasped as he tore the last button on her shirt open to expose her black underwear, his hands rough in touching her. The kisses back on her neck were harder as well, sucking on her skin as she squirmed in his hold, fighting him, but not so determined in her struggle. Her nails dug into tender flesh, the only purchase on him she could find as he pushed her up against the cold glass. Roy's hips ground into hers, his hands tugging on her clothes till the shirt came off with a slight ripping sound. She didn't care if it was ruined or not. The only thing the blonde felt at that moment was the maddening need to touch him as she shuddered. Her hands were pried away though and pinned on the wall, only allowing her to feel his body rubbing over the back of hers. The word 'bastard' died on her lips, caught up in a ragged moan. "I can't believe that you'd ever get tired of this," Roy breathed into her burning ears.

To make his point, his fingers slid off of her wrists and over the front of her struggling torso. She gave a short cry as one hand yanked roughly on her bra, freeing her breasts before they were mashed against the mirror. His fingers then delved into her panties, but stopped short of touching her where she wanted him too. Why was he stopping? Riza bit back the growl of frustration, staring at her own angry eyes in the reflection while seeing his devious grin. She wanted to kiss that grin away if she could help it, but she wasn't going anywhere pinned like this. His hands pressed her legs open but didn't dare get any closer to the wet, pouting lips except to brush through the thin, blonde curls. Her growl turned into an anguished whine, and his grin in the mirror only got wider. So that was what he was after, she thought, to torture her with want. He could be an evil bastard when he wanted to be. She could feel him hard against the back of her hips, and realized she wasn't the only one craving to be touched.

Her back arched into his chest as her head was tossed onto his shoulder. She writhed against him, her hips grinding into his over and over. Roy's breathe on her neck quickened and his fingers itched to touch her. Riza didn't stop trying, even as he pushed her back until she was pressed flat against the mirror. She could feel him caving little by little as his finger got closer to touching her folds. "I can't believe you'd ever get tired of touching me," she said breathlessly, and he seemed to snap.

Mustang hugged her tightly and pulled her backwards, dragging them both towards the bed, "You're right, I could never."

She tried to twist in his arms, but it was useless once they crashed onto the mattress. Riza moaned, loudly as she was pinned under him again, half of his chest covering half of her back. His name came out of her lips, sounding as if she was half delirious and half contemplating where her guns were. He ignored her protesting long enough to slip her black panties down to her knees when she kicked them the rest of the way off. Her bra soon followed, leaving her naked and spread out on her side before him. His breath stuck in his throat along with his heart, admiring her in that heated moment. Roy was certain he didn't tell her enough of how beautiful she was, but as she tried to push up from the bed, he knew she wouldn't care for his ramblings right now. He moved a hand across the back of Riza's hips to the front, his touch teasingly light. She stiffened in his arms when the tips of his fingers touched her center.

As his whole palm cupped and rubbed the folds, she cried out, stopping the sound in the sheets. Roy groaned as well, aching for the succulent heat he felt within her. She thrashed under him as he parted the lips and easily slid in two fingers. The hitch in her cries rose steadily as he moved them in and out of her, taking his time as she struggle under him. Riza's rebellion stopped as Roy's other arm hooked over her shoulder and neck to pillow her head, holding her to his chest. She then moved with his hand instead of fighting it, giving in to the rush for more that pulsed in her blood. How little she knew of the effect she had on him as each subtle movement or muffled moan cracked his control. He had wanted to make the woman he loved scream out in passion for him, because of him, because she was his as much as he was hers. And yet why was he the one that felt on edge? Maybe it was because of way she breathlessly said his name, or the way her skin felt against his, soft, yielding, but hiding the strength he knew was there. How could she ever doubt his feelings for her? How could he ever not love her?

The kisses he had been planting on her neck all along turned into a nibbling bite as she arched, twisting till her hand touched his skin. She said his name again, forcefully, as if his moving fingers had ripped it from her throat, and it undid him. His hand pulled away, replaced by the tip of his sex at her wet folds. Riza bucked against him weakly from her position on her side, trying to push herself down onto him as he rubbed against her. Roy grabbed her hand as she groped him again, pinning her back down, "Tonight isn't for me, darling, it's to remind you how much I still want you."

Suddenly, his hips shifted up, pushing into her inviting warmth. The fire running along her nerves flared as she came with release too quickly. Her scream went right into his lips as he kissed her, devouring the sound as well as the taste of her mouth. Buried deep within her, he stopped before she dragged him over the edge, wanting to enjoy her shuddering in his grasp at least once before he joined her. Slowly, her breath came down to a light pant as her eyes stared up at his, half-twisted in his arms. He had to grin as he moved slowly inside her, the warm hues of browns and gold, shifting in her irises in the darkness. Roy kept his eyes locked on hers even when she closed them, struggling against his slow thrusts.

Each time he moved, it felt as if he was claiming another small part of her sanity, hard and powerful yet agonizingly slow. He wasn't so much proving how much he wanted her, but how much he knew her own desires. Riza's will to lose control was strong, as was her need for more. She wanted more. She wanted him. She wanted to lay as much claim to him as he did to her. And yet, he still kept her waiting, wanting more when another sudden and jolting push made her nerves stand on end just for him. A small whimpering cry escaped her throat and she could feel him grinning against her neck. His other arm wrapped over her, drifting between her breasts to fondle them and down over her stomach. Slowly, the hand moved between her, touching her clit till she nearly screeched. Her nails scratched over the cat claw marks from the day before, adding new ones to Roy's skin as he hissed. The tenderness was gone in his next push and each one there after. His control had finally slipped as he pounded into her again in desperation. Even his hand had picked up speed to rub her more. Despite herself, the blonde grinned, wrapped up tightly in his arms to lose herself in them. "Mine," she whispered in a short breath, and he didn't argue with her over it.

Riza cried out in release soon after, but Mustang didn't stop it with his mouth as he was too busy with his own shout for it to matter. Her body arched against his, shuddering as she tossed. Despite how roughly he had taken her, the euphoria still felt the same, along with the warmth. She'd never get tired of that feeling of completeness in his arms, and somehow she was sure it was a sentiment he shared as well. With one last push inside her, his seed spilled as her walls tightened around him. After the beating of her heart had died down, all she could hear was his breath over her ear, "You're going to be the death of me . . ."

Despite how sweaty she was, and how quickly her body cooled without clothes or even a blanket covering them, Riza smiled softly. It was a morbid prophetic statement, but it was still sweet, "You know, they used to call an orgasm 'a little death'."

"Then I'll gladly die thousands of them as long as they're for you," he muttered, grinning again as he kissed her shoulder, "With you, 'inside' of you."

The blush across Hawkeye's face could have lit up the whole room if he had noticed it. So . . . maybe her little fears were unfounded, maybe this could work out, even if their relationship felt more and more like a dirty secret than something normal. But what part of her life was ever normal to begin with? When they had started seeing one another months ago, trouble seemed like it was waiting to happen, but now? Maybe, just maybe, everything in their little world would be ok enough for her request to become a reality, one day.

Roy lovingly nuzzled the back of her neck, tickling the hairs with his rough, unshaved face as she giggled at the slight burn. She couldn't wait for that one day to come quick enough.

* * *

Edward was nearly shaking with nervousness in his bed after the noise from the bedroom across the hall had died down. It must have been a good night for those two as they were louder than ever before. Of course they were fine, he thought with a smirk. Even he could feel the sexual tension the both of them radiated around each other almost every second of the day since he finally knew what was happening. The tension permeated the damned air of the apartment like bad perfume, just twice as effective. With Winry there as well, even he felt a growing need for release once he was alone with the mechanic that only grew stronger. That would explain why he nearly jumped her earlier when she was checking his arm and checking out the rest of him. It also explained how their walk in the snow had turned into a wrestling match then into a snow ball fight when she put a piece of ice down his pants to cool him off. And it would explain why he couldn't sleep while waiting for her, his metal leg jittering in anticipation.

He did as she said and kept the door partially open for her before getting into bed. He even lit a few candles by his bedside so that he could see her when she arrived. Hell, he was almost tempted to shed the boxers he'd kept on too, but that could be embarrassing in the morning if she never showed up.

If she never showed up, there was a scary thought. He'd probably died of pent up longing if that happened. Maybe he should have gone to her instead like he normally did in the Rockbell's house in Rizembool. Ed had no idea how that pattern started the first night or the subsequent nights, only that it was always him coming to her. This was the first time the situation was reversed, and it unnerved him. Probably because tonight of all nights, he didn't want to wait. With a frustrated sigh, he turned away from the door, trying to still his foot as much as his thoughts. Getting up to glance over his shoulder, he noticed the puppy was already out cold on his dog bed. At least someone in that apartment was getting some sleep. Sluggishly, his mind started to wander off of his little mechanic girl and off into sleep. He was almost gone into dreamland when the light sheet covering him was lifted and a finger traced up the middle of his back. Edward jolted up right in the bed with a startled bounce, his eyes locking onto Winry's as she knelt next to him on the mattress, giggling, "You're not going to sleep through this are you?"

The shocked look in his amber eyes quickly turned into a smirk, "Maybe, if you're just going to sit there all night that is."

She giggled again and got up as he lunged to grab her. The blonde's laughter only got louder as he missed her and cursed. "We're doing things my way tonight," she announced as she moved towards the end of the bed.

Ed's eyes were fixated on her, taking in the fact that she was still fully clothed in what she wore that day. He smirked, again, "And if I disagree?"

"Then you'll miss the show."

Curiosity peaked, a single golden eyebrow arched upwards at her words. His smirk turned into a licentious grin, "Do I just sit back and enjoy?"

Winry was grinning as well, leaning over the low footboard of the bed, "Not yet you don't. You're still dressed."

He blinked, "You noticed, didn't you?"

Her head bobbed suddenly with a shift of pale yellow hair, "Take them off, Edward, but don't move the sheet as you do it. Then, untie your braid."

For a moment, his heart clenched as if someone had grabbed it in his chest and gently squeezed. It only ever did that around her, but not recently, not since he thought he'd come to terms with their relationship. Maybe it was because she was suddenly ordering him around in something aside from automail. As the Colonel could attest to, he didn't like orders too much. And yet, there was something in the way her blues eyes stared at him as she was enshrouded in darkness that made his fingers want to obey her. As his hands slowly moved under the covers, her tongue slipped out to wet her pink lips, biting them as she watched. Suddenly, he couldn't comply fast enough.

He slipped the underwear down his hips with one hand while the other held the sheet up like she told him. With some wiggling in the bed, he pulled the boxers out from under the bedding and held them up for her inspection as she cooed, playfully rapturous, "Ooooh, back to light blue I see."

Ed flung the garment at Winry as she giggled, catching and dropping them on the floor without a second thought. With a smirk, he pulled his hair free of the braid and shook the golden strands loose before tossing the tie on to the bedside table. "Now what?" he muttered as he leaned back on his elbows, the sheet hanging down around his hips.

"Just stay like that, I'll do the rest," she said, a warm smile tugged up her lips. He felt the clench in his heart again, only this time it seemed more soothing as the pain stopped. Her eyes remained locked on his while she pulled a similar tie loose from her hair, the pale locks falling across her back with a gentle sway. Pulling up her long skirt, Winry placed her foot on the end of the bed then methodically undid the laces of her black boot before slipping it off. His eyes slowly drifted off of hers to the exposed leg, noticing the way the thin, icy blue wool hung above her knee. With a tilt to his head, he could see tantalizing glimpses of what was under the material, long, white knit stockings, something frilly holding them up, and skin. That last part brought a grin to his face before the leg and skirt fell back from the bed to be replaced by the opposite limb. Watching her fingers work on the footwear again, his eyes moved up her calf once more, his head tilted to the other side for another look. A giggle from her rooted his attention back to her eyes as they sparkled with mirth in the darkness, "See something you like?"

If his voice wasn't stuck somewhere between his heart and his balls, Edward would have answered her with a resounding, 'Yes!'

But coherency wasn't going to happen any time soon. The young alchemist intelligence only seemed to grow more debase as she turned around, her hands posed at the clasp and zipper of her skirt. Winry's smile widened at the dumbstruck look on his face while glancing over her shoulder, pulling the closures open and slid the wool down her legs. His mouth had fallen along with the garment, a familiar warmth spreading over his skin the more he looked. Her shirt hung over her hips, hiding her underwear, but it didn't cover the thigh high white stockings she wore. Each one was held up by a slim band of white lace threaded with pink ribbons. If it didn't look so provocative against her skin, he would have thought it was cute, adorably cute. Winry and cute seemed to be a good combination the more he thought about it. And yet, at that moment, if she was indeed cute, it was in an innocently seductive way. She turned around, and his eyes darted to her lips, noticing the way she bit the bottom half with a sheepish look in her blue eyes. It was an act. He knew it, but it was very effective. Edward gulped loudly on the dry lump in his throat.

Slowly, her hand traced the bottom edge of her pale violet shirt, skimming the top of her thighs till she was almost touching herself, "So, you like pink? I thought your favorite color was black?"

"On you, does it really matter?" he said, surprising himself with how easily the words came to him without blushing or stammering. He was getting better at this flirting thing till he sounded downright smooth. His self-congratulation only got stronger as she blushed, inching the shirt up over her hips. And yet, his internal cheering section ground to a halt once the first glimpse of her panties came into view. Who knew sheer white lace could be so small and still cover everything it needed to? They barely skimmed the top of her hips, tied in stringy bows that could easily be untied or snapped lost. Oh, and the pink! The color was so subtly threaded in the lace that he barely noticed it against her skin. From a distance, he could see the sheen on the silky surface, soft and begging to be touched. His mouth went from dry to salivating. Where in all of Rizembool could she buy lingerie like that?! And did she have even more stashed away somewhere?

Ed's drooled at the thought while his amber eyes drifted back up to Winry's before dropping back down to her hands. The warmth from his stomach down into his loins grew into burning heat, mesmerized as she lifted the shirt more. The more skin the mechanic exposed, the more his breath became labored till he was just about choking as the fabric peeled away from her chest. More white lace and pink thread made up the brassiere, and it was so feminine to look at. He idly wondered if this was the first time he'd seen her in something so scandalous yet girly and impractical. It was had to be as every other time Winry's underwear was decidedly simple or just not there. To think that she had been dressed up like this all day long, and for him, was gratifying, his heart bursting with pride and admiration. She had excellent taste too.

She pulled the lavender shirt off finally and dropped it on the floor. Her hands then moved behind her back till Ed nearly jumped out of the bed, "No!"

Winry froze, her eyes wide in surprised before annoyance set in and her brow twitched. The alchemist's voice picked a hell of a time to let him down by not cooperating, "I-I-I, uhh, let me get that? Please?"

Instead of being upset like he thought she might be, the girl smiled instead, leaning over the end of the bed, "If you insist."

Ed's mouth dropped open again when she knelt onto the mattress and climbed up on her hands and knees, the top of her breasts calling to him from under their confinement. With a start, he felt the thin sheet covering his hips and legs move. Looking down, he saw her hand tug on the fabric till he was barely covered anymore. He could feel her eyes on the bulge underneath caused by his sex, growing harder the longer he anticipated her next tug that didn't come. Normally, he didn't give two wits about being naked, especially around her. And yet, seeing her all dressed up like that, and looking at him as if she could see through the thin material, was playing havoc with his nerves. Did she want him to touch her yet? What was she waiting for? He wasn't about to screw this up by trusting his impulse. "Winry . . ." he said softly, almost choking on her name in his throat, "I . . ."

Damn, what was he trying to say that she didn't know already? Her blue eyes looked up to his again, and she smiled, "Relax, Ed. You know, sometimes you act like you got a few screws twisted too tightly."

He scowled at her, momentarily forgetting about how much he wanted her, till the sheet was ripped away. Edward inhaled sharply at the rush of cool air on his burning skin, resisting the urge to cover himself. It wasn't like she hadn't seen 'it' before, but all he could feel was her eyes on him till he was twitching. Her fingers delicately touched the calf of his right leg, brushing the light blond hairs as he flinched hard. He didn't dare move, growing harder the closer her hand moved up his leg till he was painfully stiff. Slowly, Winry crawled up over him, his amber eyes torn between watching the trail of her hand on his flushed skin and the shift of her body as she towered over him. Unconsciously, his legs opened to let her kneel between them, too stunned to resist as she leaned down. While his grin had been downright dumb throughout her seductive stripping, the look on the young alchemist face slipped into longing before his eyes closed. He finally did as she told him. He relaxed.

Craning his neck up, Edward kissed her, languidly nibbling on her lips. Sighing softly, the mechanic tilted her head, darting her tongue into his mouth when it opened. Her body pressed down on his, soft lace against hardened flesh and metal. Ed fell back on the bed, dragging Winry down with him as his arms wrapped over her figure. Her mouth kissed him harder, with nearly bruising force as she clasped his neck. She moaned in the back of her throat. The sound was barely audible over the pounding of Ed's blood in his ears, but he heard it. Just that tiny noise was enough to snap his restraint as he rolled them over.

Winry gasped as she found herself looking up at him, golden hair shading the look in his eyes as he backed away from her lips. His hands slid from her back to her stomach, making her suck in a hiss at the touch of cold metal and warm skin. His fingers crept over her till they were at her breasts, pawing at the lace. "Pretty . . ." Ed said, sounding downright delirious.

It brought a victorious gleam to her blue eyes when he wasn't looking, "So nice of you to approve."

Edward didn't say anything at her quip, grabbing at the soft globe instead as she gasped. He kissed her neck, feeling her pulse quicken before sliding down against her. Whether Winry knew it or not, her hips moved on their own as soon as he forced her legs open with a knee. With a moan, she ground against his thigh, hugging his head to her tightly. Groaning, Ed's hands pulled at the bra, trying to remove it, rip it, something to get it out of his path. No, it was too pretty to destroy, but he'd be damned if it stayed on her much. Sensing his distress, the girl under him arched her back off the bed till the objects of his desire were pressed intimately under his nose. "Clasp's in the back. Don't rip, please?" she asked breathlessly, knowing what happened to the last, and significantly cheaper, bra she wore around him.

Growling, Ed's hands wrapped over her, grabbing the material. His cheek, meanwhile, felt the hardening bud of a nipple through the silky lace, distracting him. Grinning, his head turned till his lips touched the sensitive point, feeling her sudden in the contact. Edward's mouth latched onto it, ripping a cry from Winry's voice as she writhed. Her hips rose up as well to press into his, too quick as he pulled away slightly. Pushing her back down roughly, his hands finally undid the garment before taking it off of her with an untangling of limbs and throwing it off the bed. The girl giggled as she saw it hit the door and slid down, one strap hooking on the handle. Yet, the sound she made was abruptly cut off with another moan as his mouth went back to her breasts, joined by his hands. Her fingers tangled in Ed's hair, giving him encouragement that he didn't need as he nipped and sucked, just enough to leave her sighing in bliss. She breathed his name, and it felt like music to his ears. He wanted to stay like that in her embrace, but the fire in his blood was too great to ignore as he slid down over her.

If she was his dessert for the night, he'd be damned if he didn't enjoy a taste of her.

No sooner had Winry moaned in disappointment when he kissed just above her navel. His hand alternatively caressed and gripped her hips, seeming torn between pinning and teasing her as his mouth touched the soft material. She tossed on the bed at feeling his mouth over her center, the sensation sparking along her nerves. As soon as Ed's tongue licked the delicate surface, she cried out from the tension, bucking up to feel more. She could feel him grinning as her legs tried to wrap over his head only to be forced back down, and it infuriated her. He was taking so long, and enjoying her suffering as she fitfully squirmed. His mouth nuzzled her cloth-covered mound again, and she arched again, thoughts of retaliation broken. This time he didn't back off, his mouth latching onto her entirely through the material.

Dimly, she was aware of his fingers pulling at the bows on her hips, knowing that the last barrier of fabric between them was undone. It wasn't like it mattered. Between his mouth and her own excitement, the lace clinging to her was so wet that he had to peel it off of her center when he stopped long enough to bother removing it. The panties soon followed the rest of her clothes on the floor, somewhere. And yet, feeling his mouth consume the whole of her being in those heated moments was greater pleasure than she could ever hope for. Each lick made her twitch and writhe like she'd been shocked, taking all her effort to keep from screaming as his mouth captured her clit. Edward didn't slow down to give her a chance to catch her breath, gentle sucking on the engorged nub till she snapped. He knew it was exactly what she wanted, needed, getting better all the time at reading her like one of his books. And it brought a grin to his face even as he was busy buried between her legs, knowing that above him the rest of Winry was in heaven because of him.

Her release came with a cry and a quake, biting her hand to keep from screaming in the dead of night as she rode through the waves. The sensations went right through her, leaving her breathless and shaking till it was washed away. Winry's body moved as if possessed, driving his face against her as the fingers of her other hand clenched in his hair. Eventually, her breath evened out, warily opening her eyes to see the alchemist staring back at her. Despite how mauled his hair looked, and the wetness on his mouth and chin, he looked happy, very happy. The same expression of contentment was probably plastered all over her face as well, even if it was in the form of a silly beaming smile.

Ed started to get up, wasting no time in climbing on top of her, but then stopped as he felt her hand brush down his side to his hip. Her hand gripped him suddenly and he shuddered, tempted to push her away, but didn't. The heated look in her blue eyes paralyzed him, groaning as he unconsciously moved in her hand. He bent down to kiss her, to sink into her warmth despite. But as soon as their lips touched, Winry's arms and legs caught him, rolling them over till they were precariously hanging near the end of the bed. She straddled his hips, sitting up with a delicious grin on her face as her other hand ran down his chest. Her grip on him tightened, making him buck upwards until he could feel her folds part around him. The girl sunk down slowly with a moan, and it took all his control to keep from turning her back and pounding in to her.

She told him to relax after all, and when was the last time he'd done that?

Winry's hips rolled and his thoughts scattered. Oh, how he missed her, the cure to all his worries even if she opened up new ones. If anyone even knew that the beautiful mechanic was his growing weakness . . . The blond girl moaned, leaning over him as she moved. Edward moved with her, trying to banish the thoughts with each thrust inside of her. It was dangerous for her to be in Central and this close to him. How could he so stupid? Squinting his amber eyes shut, he pushed hard up into her, rewarded in her cry. He had to stop thinking, but his mind wouldn't shut off that line of thought no matter how much he tried. Winry gave up trying to stay sitting atop of him, clinging instead to his neck. With a grunt, Ed rolled them over till he could plow straight into her, moving faster. She arched into his chest, sweat pouring over both of them.

His metal hand brushed over her cheek while his thumb touched her lips, the sound of her voice ringing through the steel. It was gut-wrenching to watch her move under him, tugging on the string of his heart. If he lost her too . . . His chest tightened in pain even if the rest of his small body sung with pleasure. Guess he really did love her. Edward kissed her desperately, and did almost the unthinkable, he slowed down. For a moment, a confused look came over the girl's face when she pulled away at least until she looked into the alchemist's eyes. He tugged her mouth close for another kiss, thrusting in and out of her slowly, yet deliberately hard, as if he was trying to tell her something without actually saying it. Kissing him back as her nails dug into his skin, Winry got the message clearly before she shook.

Edward watched her climax spread over her face before he even felt it in the tightening of her walls. Her head violently pressed back into the pillow, her mouth twisting in a silent scream that would have looked like she was in pain if she hadn't breathed his name so adoringly. Winry's body arched under his then collapsed as he finally joined her, burying his face between her shoulder and breasts to muffle the sound of his release. After one last thrust, Ed finally relaxed on top of her, nearly twitching. If he was heavy, the girl under him didn't complain. She didn't even move except to brush the top of his head, her fingers tangled in his hair. It was a soothing gesture, and yet, it didn't calm the troubles on his mind.

Laying there on top of her warm body, his thoughts drifted back to the previous subject, her, or rather her protection. He never should have given her that flimsy excuse earlier. In honesty, he didn't give a rat's ass if Mustang ever knew. Al . . . ok, that was a different matter, one he wanted to tell his brother eventually on his own. But what if someone else, like these snipers, ever found out how much Winry did matter to him? His heart was scarred enough as it was, if she was taken too . . . It was for her own protection that he didn't broadcast his feeling for her, but it didn't make him feel any less guilty for lying to her. Maybe he should have admitted to her the real reason 'why' he invited her, or why he didn't want anyone else to know about their relationship. It was for her own protection, just the sound of that phrase in his head again made him feel like a coward.

Groaning, Ed buried his face between her breasts, the warmth blanketing him while willing himself to forget. They were safe, for now, which was all that was important, and he'd protect her. Winry shifted under him with a moan, her legs still loosely spread and tangled up with his. Stretching, he moved till his head was on the pillow beside hers, but didn't roll off, wanting to be close to her. "This . . .?" he started to ask softly until she murmured, wrapping her arms over him.

With a grin, he realized that she was already out. Sighing, he knew he didn't feel much better, exhausted as he tried to get comfortable despite the lack of covers. Eh, he was warm anyway, just tired, and Winry would push him off rather than wake him up to complain. Ed started to fall asleep finally, watching her lips move in slumber. The sound she made vaguely sounded like, ". . . love you."

He knew that the words on her lips as she dreamed were for him, and it made him smile before he passed out, knowing the sentiments were very much mutual.

* * *

It was with much reluctance that Riza pried Roy's arms off of her, trying to get out of the bed they shared. The morning sun was much too bright through the window for them to still be sleeping. She sat up stiffly, and looked at the disaster her room was in. When she was sure she couldn't wish the bedroom back to cleanliness, the blond woman crawled over the man sleeping next to her, purposefully poking him with her knee as she went. With a start, the Colonel groggily jolted up before flopping back down, "Damn it, Riza, too early."

"You and FullMetal have appointments with the tailor, and I have to go to the dressmaker's with Winry. Get up," she said mercilessly. Hawkeye wobbled to her feet, trying not to curse at how her knees felt like gelatin. It was all his fault for being so rough last night that she was sore, scowling at him before she grabbed her robe. She slipped into it, watching his back turn towards her as he rolled over. "Roy . . ." she said threateningly, yet he didn't even flinch at the sound.

Mustang didn't move from the bed at all, trying to get back to that state of being dead to the world that he enjoyed. Riza's bed was softer than his as he practically sank into it, making falling asleep in it the easiest thing in the world. He didn't want to leave it, at least not until she pulled on his ear like she was scolding a child. "Ow! Ow! Ok! Getting up! Getting up!" he said as he obediently followed the tugging of her hand to avoid the pain.

Riza smiled, much happier as he finally stood up and headed for the door, groggily. He was about to walk naked out the door way when he turned to her, still sounding sleepy while rubbing his eyes, "Kids aren't up?"

"Doesn't sound like it."

His hands fell away from his eyes, slowly widening with intelligence as she could just see the wheels in his head turning. He was grinning much too much to be thinking of anything good. "Want to share the shower then?" he asked, his voice low, hinting that efficiency and cleanliness were not his reasons for proposing the idea.

Riza blushed. Of course, she should have expected him to ask that. She wouldn't have expected anything less from him. At least he didn't wiggle his eyebrows suggestively at her to go with the question. "Roy . . . Go," she said, looking too stern to be taken as anything but a flat refusal.

Crestfallen, the dark-haired man trudged down the hall. She shook her head, not having time at the moment to deal with stroking his, well, 'ego'. Once he was in the bathroom, Riza turned towards the bedroom door across from hers, intending to wake up the young alchemist. Given how hard it had been to get him moving the day before when it was even earlier, she expected him to be a little sluggish this morning. At least he wasn't too lazy in the morning unlike the Colonel. Sighing, she turned the handle and stuck her head in only to deeply regret it.

It was times like these that she wished she wasn't so right about her intuitive feeling. She wasn't at all prepared for what she saw. There were two underage occupants in the bed, two very naked, underage occupants using each other as bedding. Edward's head was very comfortably pillowed on Winry's shoulder and breast. The rest of his body wonderfully imitated a blanket, a flesh and metal blanket as the sheets were gone off the end of the bed. And from the clothes thrown everywhere along with the scent, she knew, just knew, what had happened. The sight was more of the alchemist and his mechanic than she ever wanted to see in her life.

The Lieutenant closed the door hastily, trying to banish the image now ingrained in her mind. Her face flushed bright red, embarrassed beyond belief. So much for the childlike innocence of FullMetal and Miss Rockbell as that image was now irreparably cracked in her head. Knowing about a relationship was one thing, physically seeing it was something entirely else. What was she going to do? If Roy found them like that, he'd explode or worse, take pictures to blackmail the young alchemist with later. She had to wake them up, and was just about to turn the door knob again when she stopped. Somehow, Riza couldn't bring herself intrude on them so abruptly, not after what she saw, possibly because it would require looking at them again. Smiling slightly, she realized there was a simpler, better way.

Instead, Riza rapped her knuckles on the wood, knocking loud enough that she knew she'd be heard. Sure enough, no sooner had her hand stopped when there was a thud of a body hitting the wooden floor followed by Hayate's barking. They were awake. Her work was done, or was it only beginning? Roy took quick showers . . . unless he was distracted. Smirking to herself, Hawkeye turned and quickly headed down the hallway to the bathroom and the sound of running water. After this, if Edward ever said she never did anything for him, he was a damned liar.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 10, Prêt-a-Porte 


	10. PrêtaPorte

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 10 – Prêt-a-Porte

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

"Ow!" Edward yelped, trying not to flinch in pain, "Watch where you're putting those things!"

"They're pins, Mr. Elric . . ." said the older man hunched over his shoulder, sticking another pin into the underarm of the half-assembled jacket. This had to be beyond humiliating, standing on a small wooden platform while getting poke, pinched, prodded, and your appearance dissected by people you didn't even know. There was another stuck pin in his underarm, and Ed had to bite his tongue to stay quiet. Didn't he make it clear enough to everyone in the office that he hated sharp, point, needle-like objects prodding him? Looking in the mirror, the alchemist frowned at his reflection, wishing he was anywhere else. From a chair not too far away, there was a chuckle from behind the held-up newspaper. The young alchemist also wished he was with anyone else. He shifted again and the tailor abruptly shoved his shoulders back. "Stay put!" he yelled as Edward just scowled, ". . . Mr. Mustang, perhaps you could make your young charge stand still long enough for me to finish?"

"You heard him, FullMetal. Stand still, and it'll all be over soon," Roy said with a lackadaisical wave of his hand, not even bothering to look over the top of the paper. The Colonel's entire attitude only made him more insufferable to Ed as his frown deepened. In fact, the whole situation was depressing the more he looked at himself in the mirror. He just knew that he'd look like a midget in a gorilla suit as he stood there, the tailor pinning up enough fabric to make two tuxedos. There was another snicker from the officer in chair, and a flutter of newsprint. Ed's head whipped towards him, scowling while trying to stand still, "Oh, just yuck it up. You're next to get needled after me."

"Mine's already done, just need to make sure it still fits," the Colonel said as he sounded bored, "Feel lucky, Edward, this gentleman is practically mothering you compared to fittings for dress uniforms."

Edward shuddered, trying not to imagine the military's blue and silver thrown on him instead, "I'll pass, thank you."

Behind the paper, Roy smirked, "At least this is better than dress shopping. I don't envy Riza right now, watching Winry trying on gown after gown. Will probably take them all day."

Actually, Edward did kind of wish he was there right now. The view would have been nice and the company infinitely better. And it was better than being poked, "Ow!"

"Almost done, Mr. Elric . . ."

"Don't call me that . . . it reminds me too much of my father," Ed muttered, looking darkly at the mirror again, "I look horrible . . ."

"It isn't even finished, sir."

"Doesn't mean there'll be much of an improvement," he groused till there was another ruffling of newspaper. Looking over, he saw that Roy had finally put the paper down to glare at him. Ed smirked back, hearing the chastisement in his head before he actually spoke. "Major, it will be fine, so stop complaining and get used to it," the Colonel said before grinning, "Besides, it doesn't matter what we think. I'm sure no matter how bad you think you look, Miss Rockbell will like it."

Edward had to fight down the blush at the mention of Winry's opinion. For once, Colonel Bastard was probably right. She did like just about anything he wore, and the tuxedo could have been worse. Slowly, he exhaled, trying to calm down . . . at least until he was pinned again, "Ow!"

"Last one."

"Thank goodness," Ed said under his breath, scowling. The tailor ignored the comment and left as Mustang got up, moving behind the alchemist. Alone with the Colonel, the annoyed look on his face turned downwards into a frown, "I'm worried."

"Everything's going to be fine. When we're done here, we're going to meet Hughes at the Conservatory to go over the box, and get the circles ready. Falman will be by later with the tickets and the latest reports. It's all set, just like we planned. We'll catch these snipers and you can go back to wrecking a path of destruction through the land, one alchemistical mishap at a time," Roy said grinning as he patted the kid on the shoulder.

Ed violently backhanded the hand off of him. Maybe he was worrying too much. The Colonel's plan was simple, too simple, but it worked even if it was potentially dangerous. Yet, who knew what other surprises these assassins could be holding up their sleeves? The effort would worth it in the end as the crisis would be all over. He and Al could get back on the road again, Winry would be safe in Rizembool once more, and he wouldn't have to put up with Roy Mustang for this long ever. "Alright, fine, but . . ." he started to say, trying to figure out how to say his real concern without revealing too much, "Are you sure we shouldn't inform Winry?"

"Do I detect a hint of fear in your voice, FullMetal?" Roy asked before smirking, "I thought you already blamed whatever happens on my head?"

"I did, but she'll figure out eventually that I'm lying to her, then I'll get wrenched," Ed muttered with a frown, imagining results a lot worse for him than a mere bump on the noggin, "It was a bad idea to bring her along . . ."

"Men don't go to the ballet alone, Edward, not even kids like you," the Colonel said before turning away to walk towards a garment bag lying next to the chair he'd previously been sitting in. Picking it up, he then moved across to the dressing rooms. About to enter one of them through the curtain, Roy stopped, looking back at the boy with an emotion akin to guilt on his face. "If something goes wrong, not the unthinkable, but just something she won't forgive you over . . . I'll do what I can to make it up to you both . . ." he said, sincerely for once.

Despite his words, Ed snorted derisively, not believing the Colonel at all, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll . . . handle it on my own somehow . . ."

"Suit yourself," Roy muttered as he left, quickly, not letting his wounded pride show. Who was he kidding with that pathetic offer? Ed was just as prideful as he was, so there was no point in trying to be helpful when it came to the girl. Besides what could he do? Maybe everyone was right about him after all. Maybe he was truly useless.

* * *

Winry gasped at another tug on the back of the gown, feeling her breath stolen from her little by little. "Is it supposed to be this tight?" she asked, trying not to wince.

Standing just behind her as another woman laced the back of the dress, Riza tried not to grin, "Yes, it is. It is a corset after all."

"Oh, well . . . I suppose it's fine then," she said with a small blush before gasping again when another yank tightened the gown around her. Looking in the three-fold mirror, she wasn't so sure about this dress in particular, but the Lieutenant had picked it out for her to try on after all the others she'd chosen herself looked abysmal on her. Winry glanced over her shoulder at Riza, unsure if she should trust her judgment or not. The woman's style was so much more mature than what she wore. The tall, black heeled boots, the slim skirt of mint green wool with the matching cropped jacket, and the charcoal grey sweater she wore underneath looked so sophisticated that Winry was sure her taste was out classed. Maybe that was why she'd let herself be talked into trying on the burgundy gown that wasn't her style of prettiness at all.

The final lace was yanked with another gasp from the girl then tied in a bow as she stood on the small wooden platform. She let out a breath, but couldn't completely. Her stomach felt like it was almost up to her chest while her breasts look like they would fall out the top of the strapless bodice if she tried to take a deep breath. "I don't know about this one . . ." Winry said as she smoothed a hand down the front of the corset, smoothing the rich silk satin.

"It does look lovely on you if I may say. The look is very fashionably this season with the asymmetrical drape across the hip and the trailing skirts rather than full ball gowns. There's enough fullness in the back that it's similar to the bustles from last season, and the shape in the corset suits you. A pretty young thing like you wears it much better than some of the women I've seen try it on," the seamstress said before she bent down to flounce the skirts in the back then fiddled with the pleating at the base of the corset, "Doesn't need much work to it either. Need to take the skirt up an inch, and let out the bodice along the bust line."

"I don't know . . . Ed does like red, but . . ." Winry said as she frowned, turning slightly to see the back of the gown. There was something about the way it looked on her that made her feel out of place. It was beautiful, almost too beautiful. Something was missing. Looking back in the mirror, it started to sink in to the mechanic exactly what was wrong. It wasn't the dress, it was her. She looked like a little girl in grown up clothing, trying to be adult by not being herself at all. While she was sure the gown would have been gorgeous on Hawkeye, and there was no denying it looked good on her too, but it wasn't her at all. "I wouldn't normally wear this," she admitted, frowning, "I don't think this is the one . . ."

"But, my dear, you're going to the ballet. It's not a normal occasion. I mean, really, what do you expect to wear?" the woman said as Riza could see a biting remark just coming. Stepping forward, she stopped the seamstress before she could continue. "That's enough, I think I have an idea of what's bothering her," the Lieutenant said with a warm smile, "Could you give us a moment?"

Huffing, the woman turned away to retreat into the back of the shop, letting the two ladies talk in private. Winry's blue eyes looked down at the floor, feeling depressed. Nothing she'd tried on felt right. The dresses were either too much silliness with lace and bows, too dark, or too exposing. This was the first one that made her feel too young to wear it. As much as she wanted to look amazing for her first ever date with Edward, her hopes of finding the perfect dress were quickly being dashed. But was that really what was bothering her, silliness over clothing? The butterflies in her stomach didn't think so even if the corset kept them from fluttering. She was nervous from feeling like she wasn't good enough.

It hadn't set in the mechanic girl's mind that they were indeed going to the ballet for their first, albeit chaperoned, date till she tried on the first gown. The red satin was fit for a true lady, and Winry knew she was no lady. Her mouth was too loud, her hands too rough, she wasn't graceful, and she certainly wasn't terribly polite. She was used to knocking Edward over the head with a wrench when she was angry with him for goodness sake, the anti-thesis of ladylike behavior. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass Ed or herself in public, especially in such a high-class place as the ballet. It would have been less pressure if he had asked her somewhere else, like out to dinner or something. Being asked to a ballet premiere was romantic, very abnormally romantic for the alchemist to do, scaring her that she couldn't live up to his expectations. "I don't know if I can do this," Winry said, the nervousness making her voice higher and tenser than normal, "I'm going to fall flat on my face in this dress. It'll be a disaster!"

Riza tried not to grin again, remembering almost the same words coming out of the mouth of Gracia Hughes upon trying on her wedding dress. While the selection of this dress wasn't as monumental as that choice, it was obvious from the way Winry was acting that her pickiness masked deeper seeded insecurities. Somehow, she wished the older woman was there right now with them to watch the girl try on all these gowns. Maes's wife was better at the whole mothering thing anyway than she would ever be. "You're not going to fall on your face," Riza said, trying to reassure her as she moved into view of the mirror, "You will be just fine."

"I just want everything to be perfect . . ."

"Rarely does anything ever go perfectly," the Lieutenant said with a firm nod. Oh, was that ever the truth coming from the sharp-shooter. If Winry ever knew why they were going to the ballet, really, she'd probably be scared to death rather than merely nervous. And her emotions wouldn't be over just a dress either. "What are you afraid of?" Riza asked, bluntly.

She took in a deep breath at the question, and let it out slowly before she spoke, "I . . . I can't really tell you. Just that . . . well, I just wish he would have asked me somewhere else for a first date . . ."

At the grin on the older woman's face, Winry blushed the same deep red as the gown she wore. Perhaps she had admitted a bit too much, and yet, the Lieutenant didn't look surprised at all. "It's alright," Riza said softly, her grin lessening into a gentle smile, "I already know there's something going on between you both."

"Y-You do!? But Ed said-," she said, turning towards the blonde suddenly, "I thought no one knew except my grandmother!"

Hawkeye's brown eyes shifted uncomfortably sideways at the admission. After what she'd witnessed that very morning, she wondered how much Pinako Rockbell did know about the relationship between her ward and the elder Elric brother. That was one question she wasn't about to ask given the dazed look on the girl's face already. Maybe she shouldn't have admitted that she knew either. Feeling slightly faint, Winry stepped off the platform, sitting down on a nearby bench, moaning softly as she put her head in her hands. "Edward will kill me . . . he didn't want anyone to find out . . . about us, sort of like you and the Colonel," she said, frowning.

Riza took a seat next to the girl, knowing exactly what she was talking about, "I suppose some things aren't meant to remain secrets, but . . . we can keep this one between us now. Sometimes it helps if at least a few people know, just those important to your life."

"Al doesn't know . . . Edward's waiting to tell him, I think. He acts different sometimes, calmer and happier, and I wonder if his brother doesn't know already."

"I'm sure he will in time, if he hasn't figured it out by now . . ." Hawkeye started to say before she trailed off. There was still a nagging worry in her head, a question she was dying to ask given what she'd seen already, "I don't mean to pry, but . . . you've been using 'precautions' right?"

Winry turned bright red, squeaking as she tried to keep her voice down, "You knew about that too?!"

"Well . . . I suppose I'll take that as a yes and not ask anymore about it," the Lieutenant said quickly, blushing as well, "I'm sorry, I know this is embarrassing for you, but . . . I can honestly say our situations are eerily familiar."

After a silent moment of considering what Riza had said, Winry giggled slightly, still slumped over, "That's a heck of an understatement."

The woman snorted in laughter, rubbing her companion's shoulder, "It mustn't be easy, being so attached to alchemists so . . ."

"Stubborn?"

"I would say more egotistical."

"Naw, more like hair-brained."

"No, definitely just plain old stupid males," Riza said with another fit of laughs as she thought back to the two men. The girl laughed too then sighed as she realized they were digressing. Her smile faltered back into a frown, "What am I going to do . . .?"

"It's just the ballet, but . . . I can see your point. I'm not too happy going either, all this work to get ready for one night of sitting. I sit enough in the office as it is," somehow, those words came out of her mouth too easily. She was lying since they were expecting trouble to begin with. "If I may ask, if you don't want anyone to know you're seeing the Colonel, why did you allow him even ask you to the ballet let alone agree to go?" Winry asked as she turned to her.

That was a good question as the blonde Lieutenant's eyebrows shot up. After choosing a careful explanation, she decided against it and went with simply glossing over the truth, "Chaperone detail, even if I realized now how little we're needed."

It would have been another lie and a pun as well if Winry knew the truth. And yet she didn't, which made the mechanic's light giggle all the more satisfying to hear. Riza exhaled slowly in relief even if she felt guilty. There was no easy way of getting around the truth, which made lying about something as big as a potential life and death situation all the more unforgivable. Hearing the girl acknowledge the night of the ballet performance as her first date ever only made the woman feel more ashamed. The mechanic was going to kill Edward herself when the smoke cleared if he wasn't dead already. Maybe there was a way around that part of the girl's inevitable ire. "Did FullMetal ever tell you why we're going to the ballet?" Riza asked suddenly, already formulating lies in her head.

"Well, he did mention that it was the Colonel's idea, along with letting me stay with you both, since he had the tickets. So really I should be thanking him since he let me visit Edward," Winry said with a bright smile. Her response made the older woman smile as well. The boy was cleverer than she thought. "I still wish it could be different though, at least for our first date," the girl continued while smiling slightly, looking down as she spoke, "It would have been nice if he had chosen a place that wasn't so . . . grand. I've never been to the ballet. I know next to nothing on how to act, what to do, and all this fancy dressing . . ."

"So you're intimidated by it?"

"No," the mechanic said sternly, her nose crinkled slightly in defiance, "I'm intimidated by nothing."

Riza didn't look like she believed Winry's words at all, and it broke down her denials till she frowned, "I'm not intimidated . . . just nervous. I am no lady like you are."

Hawkeye chuckled slightly, smiling again. Her? A lady? Well, she supposed she had her moments, but it was obvious Edward never told her of how strict the Lieutenant could be around Headquarters. Although, what would give her the impression that she was a lady? She never thought of herself as anything but a woman, certainly. Suddenly, she was wishing Gracia was there again to point out exactly how she wasn't what Winry thought she was. "I am not a lady," the blond woman admitted, smiling slightly, "At least not any more of a lady than you are."

"But you seem so much more . . . refined," she said with a pout, "You don't hit your man over the head with tools."

Riza giggled, "Doesn't stop me from at least threatening to shoot him."

The girl giggled too, grinning, "I suppose I could tone it down for a night. He has been better behaved lately."

"If that's all you're worried about, then you should be more concerned about both of our men deciding to fight in the lobby before one chord of music is struck."

"They are pretty bad about that aren't they?"

"Tempers bad enough to rival volcanoes," the Lieutenant said with sigh, remembering just how bad it had been without Winry there to keep the pip-squeak under control. The mechanic giggled, smiling again as she stood back up. She smoothed out the gown and hopped back up onto the platform, staring at her reflection in the three-fold mirror. "I still don't know about this one . . ." she whined, her face crinkling into another look of distaste.

A grin slowly worked its way up onto Riza's face, taking a good look at the girl in the red gown herself, "The shape is beautiful on you, maybe it's just the color."

"Ed likes red . . . or black," Winry said as her lips quirked into a smirk, "Maybe I should wear something colorful just to stick out next to him."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Lavender, really, why?"

Riza's brown eyes lit up, her grin widening as she stood up, "I have an idea."

Winry looked at her curiously, not certain if she liked the sound of those words coming from the older woman. Whenever Edward said something similar the results were either mixed at best or decidedly not in her favor, like that one time with the chocolate. It gave her chills just remembering it. Looking skeptical, the mechanic girl sighed, knowing she'd have little choice. Besides, it wasn't like any of the gowns she had tried on already had panned out, "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

For once in what felt like a long time, Riza's apartment was silent. As she sat at the table looking over papers, the Lieutenant realized how refreshing the lack of sound was, especially after the day they'd had. The shopping had ended an hour ago with Winry's gown being made along with Ed's new tuxedo, the jewelry selected and acquired, and the parcels of everything else needed sitting in their bedrooms. It was amazing what waving military purchase authorization could get you, even if the boys still insisted on pay for the clothing. Then there were the guns too. Falman was bringing her requests from the quartermaster as well with the tickets, and knowing what she'd ordered, he'd probably have to bring someone else along to carry it all.

The memory of what the Colonel had said when he authorized her list brought a grin to her face. As much as he thought otherwise, there was a lot you could hide under an evening gown. She wasn't going to take any chances on this mission, not with the young lives of friends at stake.

Dimly, she could hear laughter and a dog barking outside the living room window. They were playing in the snow again, and it brought a smirk to her lips, knowing the mess they'd track through the apartment. Roy was in the other half of the conjoined rooms, dealing with the cats. She didn't even have to ask him this time to do it for her, of which she was grateful. The less she dealt with that woman's fur-balls, the less likely she was to permanently damage one of the precious pussies. Sighing, Riza went back the papers in front of her, the blueprints for the conservatory. The Colonel was so considerate sometimes, leaving most of the planning to her. He should have left it to Breda who did most of their strategies for field missions, but since sharp-shooting was her specialty . . .

A frown tugged on her lips as her brow furrowed, muttering to herself, "If I was an assassin, where would I be?"

There was an answer to that question on the tip of her tongue when a knock sounded on her door. She already had an idea of who it was, but she still silently crept across the room, and cautiously picked up her rifle. Craning her neck, she peered through the eyehole and then promptly put down the gun. Opening all the lock and latches, she yanked the door wide, glaring at Falman and Havoc on the other side. They were dressed in civilian clothes, looking entirely unsuspicious except for what they carried, a large box and a stake of papers and folder just as big. "You know, next time, just announce yourselves, then I don't have to point guns at the door," Hawkeye muttered while moving to the side to let them in.

Jean smirked while the end of his spent cigarette pointed up, struggling with the heavy box he carried, "Somehow I doubt you'd let just any old pair of delivery men into your apartment."

"Somehow I don't think our dear First Lieutenant is as trusting as you are, Havoc," Falman said with a smile as the blond woman fought down her giggles. The Second Lieutenant glared, "I don't think I asked for your opinion, Warrant Officer. Move it before I drop this shit on your foot."

Just like that, the two officers crowded through her doorway. Closing the door behind them, Riza took the box from Jean, nearly dropping it herself, "This must be all the ammo I ordered."

"Planning a rebellion or something?" he joked as she quickly went down the hallway with it before the contents spilled from her arms. Riza, backing into her bedroom door to open it, yelled back at him, "A woman has to be prepared for all occasions!"

Turning to Falman, he added, "I bet most of it'll end up in the office walls this coming month."

"You know, I would normally take that bet, but for once it sounds like you'd actually win," Vato said with a smile as the sandy-haired officer gawked at him. Ignoring the grumbling from Jean, he put the stack of paperwork and folders he'd been carrying on top of the table where he saw the rest of the paper work. "You know, this is the first time we've ever seen Hawkeye's apartment . . ." Jean idly wondered aloud, glancing around, "It's a mess."

"With FullMetal, his mechanic, and the Colonel here, are you at all surprised it isn't messier?"

"No, she is the most organized woman in all of Central. I'm more surprised she isn't tearing her hair out making them clean it up," Havoc said with a smirk as Falman frowned. As much as they were friends and coworkers, sometimes the actions of the hopeless Lieutenant were beyond the understanding of his grey-haired companion. Often just watching Jean amble witlessly into impending doom was why the office rarely got much accomplished without much prodding from the female officer. Vato was having one of those impending moments of doom just watching Havoc live up to his last name. "You know, I really don't think she'd like you looking through her desk," Falman said as Jean casually opened a drawer.

"I'm not looking through her desk. I'm looking for a pencil. Yes, that's it," he said with a nod while rifling through another drawer, ignoring the sigh from across the room, "The woman keeps no photos at all, not even in the office, I swear."

"Looking for blackmail material?"

"If it gets me out of filing duty for a while, yes, I am. Keep an eye out for her will you."

"Jean . . ."

"Shut up. I know what I'm doing."

"Havoc?"

"Not so loud, she'll hear you!" he said till there was a click behind him. Watching Hawkeye point a handgun at the back of the knucklehead's head, Falman's sense of impending doom only got worse. "Hear what, Second Lieutenant?" Riza asked, looking rather smug, "And why are you holding my box of staples?"

"Uh . . . looking for a pencil?"

"Next time you attempt to lie, try not to pause?" she said, rolling her eyes. Sighing, the safety on the gun clicked back into place. As soon as he heard that noise of release, Havoc dropped the box back into the drawer and shoved it closed. He quickly moved out of her way, attempting the stay out of sight behind Falman. Ignoring both men, Riza moved over to the table, noticing the new stack sitting in front of where Edward usually sat. "I take it this is more things from Maes?" she asked, eyeing the small envelope on top, "And this is our tickets?"

"Yes, ma'am. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes managed to get a copy of Delmark Arms' current employee records somehow. The list is in there, along with the Purchasing and Quartermaster's rosters. He already took a preliminary with Fuery, but nothing came up. He sent it along anyway since you and the Colonel wanted to take a look," Falman explained, pausing as she started to flip through the folders, "Uh, ma'am?"

"Yes, Warrant Officer?"

"The Lieutenant Colonel wanted to know when to expect Colonel Mustang to check in for the briefing before night of the mission."

"He'll be there tomorrow morning, early," Riza said with a supreme confidence that he would be or else. The two officers looked at her in disbelief that their esteemed leader would indeed be early to the office for once. But then again, after her illustrious bet against the Colonel, and subsequent win, her word was as good as gold. She didn't notice as the two men nodded to her at all since she had found the beginning of the employee list that Falman has spoken of. It had apparently been listened in order of company position, conveniently. All the officers and directors were on top of the length list, down to the night janitors on the last pages. That always did amuse her about business, how most of them ordered their rank and file just like the State military. She went back to the beginning, closing the folder for now, "Thank you, gentlemen, I'll make sure the Colonel looks through it all before tomorrow . . . Good to have you back, Falman. I trust your leave was alright?"

"Yes, except if you count the cold up north this time of year."

"I keep telling Breda that he must have brought back the bad weather with him," Jean added. She laughed softly, wondering if it was true with the amounts of snow Central had been getting. Judging from Falman's frown, he didn't think it was funny, "It wasn't that cold with I left up there. It must be all the mountains bordering the city, forcing all the moisture-."

"That's alright, Vato, just keep telling yourself it isn't true."

"Havoc?" Riza said, an annoyed tone in her voice, "You two should be going. You're staying a bit long for delivery men."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Course, ma'am."

"Oh, and gentlemen? If you see Miss Rockbell on the way out, she doesn't know about the operation. It is to stay like that until the Colonel decides otherwise," she added with finality. The men nodded, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, they were gone.

Breathing more easily, she sat back down at the table, still hearing laughter outside the window as well as barking and the crunch of snow. It was all going according to plan, like Roy had said, but it still nagged at her. Opening the folder that she had peeked at the first time, the blonde looked at the page in front of her, all names of the operating officers or the board of directors for Delmark Arms. Maybe one of them would jump out at her. She doubted it, and doubted that Roy would find anything either. Just as she was about to turn the page, a name did just jump out at her.

Marguerite Everard, member of the Delmark Arms board of directors.

What had Roy called her? Margie? Was it the same woman? That would be impossible. Marguerite was a common name. Just to prove herself wrong, Riza started flipping pages, scanning madly for anyone else with the same first name in the company. She found three more, a secretarial supervisor, one of the clerical staff, and an assembly worker, and about five more that were simply Margie. Alright, so it was a common name, not as common as, say, Elizabeth, but it was enough that the Lieutenant breathed a little easier now that she was finished. Exhaling deeply, she closed her eyes, and thought. She was paranoid, that was it. Their suspect was after Edward, not Roy. It was a simple panic of fear. Just when she thought she was calmed down, a touch on her shoulder made her jump straight up with a start.

She looked up to see Mustang standing over her, his hands raised in alarm at her yelp. Riza slowly let out another breath, clutching her shirt around her heart, "You scared me."

"Sorry . . . I just finished with the cats . . . you ok?" he asked tentatively if a bit curious. He didn't think he'd startled her that much with the noise had been making. Seeing Riza obvious to the world around her was rare, and frankly, a bit unnerving to Roy. Despite his thoughts to the contrary, she gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, really. I was just thinking . . ."

"Those must have been some thoughts . . ." he said, not believing her smile at all, and yet he didn't push the matter further. Looking down at the pile of paper before her lead him to only one conclusion, "Falman was here?"

"And Havoc, early midwinter gifts from Hughes," Riza said with a small smile, thumbing the envelope on top, "Our tickets, Mr. Smith."

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith . . . you didn't look at them did you?"

Her brown eyes blinked at him a moment, big with curiosity, "No, should I have?"

Chuckling a tad nervously, Roy tried to grab the envelope from her suddenly, "No, no, of course not. You'll see them tomorrow, give them here."

Just as he was about pull the item from her fingers, the blonde yanked it back. There was something about his sudden need to keep her from seeing the tickets that was making her suspicious. She started to open the envelope, and Roy's mouth dropped open. "What did you do?" she asked accusingly, pulling back the top flap faster.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Just-!" He yelled, but it was too late. Riza's mouth fell open as well when she finally pulled the tickets out. She was staring at the name on top, her eyes only increasing in size when she came to the second ticket. "Roy . . ." she started to say, "Why does this ticket say Mrs. Roy Mustang?"

The fingers holding the flimsy pieces of paper twitched. That was not a good sign as Roy started scanning the vicinity for handguns, spotting one on the table directly to her right. The alchemist paled, "Oh, shit . . ."

* * *

Despite being almost drenched in melting snow, Ed was happy, actually smiling as Winry hopped up the stairs in front of him with Black Hayate yipping happily at her heels. The puppy had taken to the mechanic just like he thought would happen. "You certainly have a way with dogs, you know," he said as she giggled, stopping to glance over her shoulder.

"I also have a way with metal too, but apparently not with snow. Did you have to pack a few of those balls so hard?" the girl asked, a slight whine in her voice. She stopped at the top of the stair case, turning towards him. The alchemist stopped as well, looking apologetic while the dog bounded back and forth between them. His mouth opened, some half-thought excuse ready to come out, but it died in his throat with the look on Winry's blue eyes. She looked at him nervously with her lips pressed into an even line across her face, chewing the inside. "What is it?" he asking, knowing whatever her question was, it wasn't good.

"I'm just curious about those two men that left before we came inside. They waved at you . . . who were they?"

He was right. That wasn't a good question for her to ask. Then again, he could blame the whole thing on Havoc the next time he saw him for waving at him like an idiot. Winry gave a small whine of annoyance as he took longer to come up with an answer. Hayate stopped moving as happily. The puppy stared at them after planting himself on the step right between them. When he was sure she was about to snap at him in aggravation, his heart took over for his more logical side, "They're from the office, probably delivering more paperwork to the Colonel."

Well, it was the truth. That answer seemed to satisfy her as she smiled, "Oh, is that all?"

Ed nodded, more than eager for her to drop the questioning. Just when he thought he was off the hook though when she turned away, she turned back. This time, her question couldn't be answered with the truth, "Why?"

"Why? I don't know why. They never tell me anything," the alchemist growled as he tried to move around her. He purposefully avoided her gaze, knowing that one look of those baby blues would make his guilt painfully hammer in his heart. She caught his metal shoulder before he was so fortunate to escape, pushing him back down the stairs. Winry knew he was hiding something. That much was evident in his avoidance. "Edward . . ." she said, half-threatening, half-compassionate, "What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," he said, this time looking into her eyes no matter how much his chest wanted to twist in pain. Lying, oh how he hated lying, especially around her. He knew she could probably see right through him, her glance piercing. "Why are we still here? Why are we staying with them in the first place? Where's Al?" she asked, each question making him want to winch, "Why won't you tell me?"

Edward looked down and to the side, unable to answer. Now Winry knew something was wrong as she gripped both of his shoulders, shaking him till he looked back up at her. There was a flash of anger over his amber eyes, their gaze narrowing on her, but it was gone just as quickly when he looked down again. Ed frowned, shrugging her hands off of him, "Al's fine. He's with some friends. I miss him too . . . but he's fine. After the night at the ballet, the Colonel will let us move back to our old rooms and continue with our quest. I guess a break isn't such a bad thing . . ."

He didn't know if what he said was the truth or not. It sounded to him more like his wishful thinking, as if such a thing was possible with how he miserable he felt. Tentatively, he looked back up at Winry, feeling smaller than he was already as she loomed over him. "It still doesn't explain why any of this is happening," she accused the alchemist, not bothering to sound anything else but pissed, "But I know you well enough never to expect a clear answer from you."

She suddenly turned to march down the hallway only to have her wrist tugged backwards. "Damnit, Winry!" Ed yelled at her, "I told you already! The Colonel is just making sure everything is safe! Even I don't know what going on! How can you-?!"

"Because you never tell me anything before let alone involve me! Don't I have a right to be suspicious?!"

"No! Why can't you trust me this once?!"

His words ignited the mechanic anger even more as she flew at his face quite literally, staring at him point-blank, "I do trust you, you ass! I just don't trust what the State makes you do!"

In a moment of clarity, Edward's anger dissipated, leaving him momentarily speechless. Winry violently ripped his hand away from her wrist, rubbing it as she turned away.

"After the initial shock of your call wore off, I started thinking about why you invited me. You know what Granny always says, something too good to be true probably isn't. You, asking me out on a date, is indeed something too good to be true . . ." she confessed, looking down at the ground with a frown, "I know there's a reason you asked me to the ballet that isn't pure, because you'd never have that idea on your own."

"How do you know what I would and wouldn't do for you?" he said, pouting at the mild insult. For a brief moment, a dim smile graced her lips at the look on his face only to be replaced with a diminished grin, "Because, Edward Elric, you don't have one romantic bone in your entire being."

His mouth dropped open to deny that statement with as much vehement rants as he could muster. But, after thinking about it for a moment, she was probably right. It was hard not to pout again since he was so thoroughly caught, "Winry . . ."

She sighed, closing her eyes, "It's alright, Ed, just tell me one thing and I won't ask anymore. Whatever forced you to ask me to the ballet, I was first choice on a short list, right?"

Despite how plagued he felt at the moment, a heart-stopping smile bloomed on the face of the young alchemist, "You were the only choice."

Winry's knees wavered when she looked into his amber eyes, certain that if her hand wasn't clasping the stair rail for life, she'd be a puddle at his feet. Maybe there a romantic bone somewhere in Edward Elric, a tiny one hidden under the heavy automail, bucket of alchemy nonsense, and a pint-sized temper with a short fuse. How could there not be if he smiled at her like that, making her forget why she was angry with him in the first place? A delicate blush spread over her cheeks, making her turn away in embarrassment, "Um, well then . . . that was a good answer . . ."

There was no hope of retaining her dignity in the face of her treacherous pale skin's reactions. She'd seen just about all of Ed that there was to see, and yet one smile still made blush. Trying not to groan, she moved down the hallway, hoping to escape him. And yet, to be so lucky was not to happen any time soon. The alchemist caught up to her, grabbing her hand again. This time, he pulled her back into his arms, turning the pink blush into a raging inferno of red. He ignored Winry's whimper, moving to face her while stumbling towards the wall. Hayate yipped at them, but he was ignored as well as Edward leaned towards her. She bit her lip, a nervous habit, watching the grin on his face widen. "Will you believe me this once? No matter what happens, I'll be with you," he said, the back of his gloved fingers brushing up her slender neck to under her chin.

His lips hovered just out of reach of hers, yet close enough to make her toes curled in her black boots. He was getting so much better at being mature. The answer wrenched from the mechanic's throat whether she had doubts or not, "Yes . . ."

Edward was silently congratulating himself for a well-played smooth move, leaning in to kiss her and finish the job when a loud crash down the hall stopped him short. Winry took the opening to beat a hasty retreat towards the noise, the puppy running after her. "Damnit!" he cursed, knowing exactly who interrupted them while muttering under his breath, "I'm going to kill that flamer if it's the last thing I do!"

And yet, as the girl opened the door to the apartment, Ed found there was no need to murder Mustang since Riza was doing a good job of it already. The Lieutenant sat straddled on Colonel's hips, her hands ringing and shaking him by the neck while he sat motionless in the upended chair under him. Roy was nearly white, trying to fight the irate woman off as she shouted, "You bastard! 'Mrs. Roy Mustang'!? Is this your idea of a sick joke! Do you have any idea how fast this'll spread through Headquarters!? Are you trying to ruin us?! You are the most arrogant, lazy, self-flattering, witless blunder of a man I have ever-!"

"Lieutenant?" Edward said while blinking at the pair, who had comically enough stopped cold. Winry gawked beside him, speechless. Seeing the older woman on the floor with the Colonel and about to beat the living hell out of him suddenly made the girl feel a whole lot better about her own lady-like behavior. A grin inched up her face, desperately trying to keep it down along with the words dancing madly in her throat. The wide-eyed, shocked looks on the adults' faces was too much to resist as the mechanic grabbed Ed by the elbow and tugged him away from the door, "Don't mind us. We'll just give you a few minutes to, um, finish."

Riza turned bright red, suddenly remembering that she was wearing a skirt. Instead of strangling Roy, her hands yanked down on the fabric while quickly staggering to her feet. Huffing in indignation, she stomped towards her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Completely stunned, the Colonel laid motionless on the floor, wondering if he was saved or damned. He decided on the latter as soon as he heard the young alchemist's barely contained laughter. "I'm never going to live this down, am I?" he wondered out loud to no one in particular.

Ed turned to Winry, letting her lead him away down the hall, and whispered in her ear, "And I thought we had problems . . ."

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 11, Dressed to Kill. 


	11. Dressed to Kill

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 11 – Dressed to Kill

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Ed's bare metal foot tapped in nervousness on the floor with a heavy clunk as he sat at the table. This was it, the day of the ballet operation. He wished it was already over with. If an assassin's bullet didn't kill him, the preparations and anticipate would. It took all his effort to keep from groaning in despair and banging his head against the nearest solid object.

The past day and a half had passed quickly, too quickly, even if it was all amusing to watch. After whatever argument had happened between the Colonel and his lovely Lieutenant, the man slept on the couch that night. It took all of the FullMetal Alchemist's self-control to keep from howling in laughter at the look on Mustang's face when she put a pillow and sheet on the piece of furniture. How unfortunate it was that the situation didn't last the entire night. By early morning, when he sneaking back from Winry's room, there were loud, suspicious noises coming from Hawkeye's bedroom and a body missing from the couch.

Maybe it was better that way. If they did stay mad at each other, he'd be even more paranoid about dying today. Unable to resist this time, Ed clunked his head on the table, trying to get the morose thoughts plaguing him to stop. Everything would be ok, just like Colonel Mustang kept reassuring him. The words sounded more convincing coming out of Riza's mouth though. The three of them had a meeting earlier that morning before Winry woke up, going over the plans. Going over the map, patrols were set up along the gallery seating and private boxes in range of their box, which was on the lowest ring around the hall of the Conservatory. Apparently everyone in their office was to be there that night and undercover as well. It was most fortunate that the mechanic never really met any of their co-workers, or else then she'd really know something was up.

Edward knew already where the transmutation circles were in the box since he'd scribed them into the wood paneling himself. They were simple in design, one of his favorites, used to erect barriers as fast as he could touch them. It wouldn't stop the first shot, but they would be watching for that as well. The beauty of going to the ballet was that the hall provided spy glasses to patrons for the performance. No one would be the wiser if they were looking at the dancers or the crowd. All he had to do was make sure Winry was safe and that he was alive when they struck. Simple enough, right? It was, but then again, nothing around him ever went that simply.

Not even getting dressed up went that simply. Grumbling to himself, Ed tried to figure out how he'd let himself get talked into this by the blonde Lieutenant. He didn't see the point, but apparently when a guy kept long hair there was one to be had. Maybe he should have cut his hair off like when he was younger then women would fuss over how he took care of it. It had started when he came back from showering to see her standing in the hallway, wrapping in a white robe. Riza asked what he was doing with his hair for the night, and when he just shrugged and said he'd braid it, the conversation went downhill. That was how he got wrangled into sitting at the table in just his undershirt and boxers, waiting for her to come back with an arsenal of hair things.

Maybe he should have talked to Winry about it. She liked cooing over and playing with his golden locks more than he did. Then again, after an early supper, the mechanic had sequestered herself in the other half of the extended apartments where he was not admitted what so ever while she got ready. He frowned more, crossing his arms over his chest. Girls, that was the only excuse he could come up with since he never made that big of a deal out of getting dressed up. Then again, it was about once in a blue moon and with much arm twisting that he ever considered any article of clothing that was black or red. Riza walked back into the room, a large comb and a bristle brush one hand, and a few hair ties in the other. Trepidation set in as he nervously glanced at her, "You're not planning something funny with those things, are you?"

She laughed softly, putting the brush and ties down on the table before moving behind him, "This is for your own good, Edward. If you'd brushed it out properly, and tried to tame that cowlick, this wouldn't be necessary. You really should take better care of yourself."

The alchemist groaned then flinched as she pulled the teeth through his hair. As soon as Riza came to the first set of tangles, she attacked mercilessly, yanking the comb through no matter how much he squirmed. He gnashed his teeth together, trying to keep from making too much of the pain. Eventually once she pulled the comb through his golden hair enough times to eliminate most of the snags, she grabbed the bristle brush instead. Ed relaxed under the steady movement, hunched in the chair. "When was the last time someone brushed your hair?" Riza asked suddenly after the minutes she'd spent brushing passed in silence.

"Winry, a few months ago . . . She likes doing it for me when my arm is disconnected," he admitted, leaning back in the chair finally, "Do you think . . . I keep asking and you all keep saying it'll be fine, but I can't help it . . ."

Her brushing slowed down slightly while pondering his words, knowing exactly what was going through his head. The same thoughts kept going through hers as well. "Edward . . . the more uptight you get, the worst it'll be if something does happen. I've read the mission reports, you've been through worse."

"I know, but I wasn't lying to Winry in the process either. I don't know how you, the Colonel, and everyone else can do it so easily. You all act as if nothing's going on, but something will. She knows . . ." Ed confessed with a low sigh, "She knows something will happen tonight. She tried to question me on it the other day, but when I couldn't tell her, she . . . she said she trusts me anyway . . ."

The young alchemist sagged in the chair and went silent before he said too much to the Lieutenant. He didn't deserve Winry's trust in him at all, not if he was bringing her along into certain danger and lying about it. Ed groaned, hanging his head while his hair fell from her fingers, "Just shoot me now, please. It'll be less misery than putting up with her and her tools later."

Riza laughed softly, yanking the brush roughly through the blond head of hair in front of her, "Doom and gloom, Edward, is that all you ever think about?"

"Lately, it seems to be a revolving theme."

"You must care about her very much to be this concerned," she said with a gentle smile. Ed's head whipped around to see the look on her face. There was something in her brown eyes that made him wonder if there was something he didn't know. "Lieutenant Hawkeye . . . what has Winry told you?" he asked, his amber eyes narrowing on the woman.

"Nothing I haven't seen for myself," she said enigmatically, using the brush on his scraggly bangs now that his face was turned. Ed growled, knowing something was up as Riza laughed again, darkness in her mirth. "They haven't struck since a few days ago. This whole thing could be for nothing for all we know. So, I suggest you stop worrying, and enjoy yourself a little till the performance actually begins, then focus on keeping her, and yourself, safe. If everything goes according to plan, she may be angry, but she'll forgive you eventually," she said as she tried to brush down the cowlick only to see it pop back up with a slight spring, "This is troublesome . . ."

"I've tried, for years, it isn't going anywhere," Ed said as he glanced up at the stubborn piece of hair. He clapped his hair together over it, smoothing the bends out till the strand stood straight up. "There, now it at least looks decent," he said as the woman sighed, putting the brush down, "Do you really think she'd forgive me that easily?"

"I'm not a relationship expert," Riza said while gathering his hair in her hands, pulling it back, "Given the Colonel, I must be far from it, but . . . if I were her, I'd forgive you . . . after a few well placed explanations and a little time. Women like it when you're sincere."

"What we're doing to her is the complete opposite of sincere."

"But with a reason," she said while leaning over to grab one of the hair ties. The young alchemist grumbled, hunched over again. Maybe he was over thinking the situation with Winry. Like alchemy, some times the easiest solutions were the best. That didn't stop him from worrying though. He hissed as she yanked his hair, wrapping it in the piece of rubber before one more pull to tighten it. Wincing, Ed reached up to rub his aching scalp, only to have his hand batted away. "Don't touch, Edward. I will not have you ruining my hard work," she said as she picked up the brush again, running it through the tail.

"It's just a stupid ponytail. I can make them on my own," he groused with a scowl on his face. Riza frowned, pulling rougher on his hair till be sprouted a quick apology. Now she understood why Winry hit him over the head when she was angry with him. Violence from women seemed to subdue FullMetal quicker, like how her guns held the Colonel and his men in line. Grinning, she finished and grabbed the rest of her tools off the table, "It makes you look more mature to keep your hair like that."

She walked away before Ed could reply to the compliment, not noticing how his mouth dropped open or how his amber eyes widened in shock. And yet, Riza could feel him looking at her as she reached her bedroom, "Get dressed, Edward. You have one hour to get ready, and I need to go help Miss Rockbell get into her gown."

"Yes, ma'am," he muttered, a sarcastic edge on his voice. He honestly didn't see why she needed the older woman's help with a dress. Really, how hard could it be for Winry to get her clothes on?

* * *

Ed's metal foot tapped again on the floor, the leather sole of his shoe only making the noise louder. They were going to be late, he just knew it. He didn't know how Mustang could be so casual about the fact that the two females were taking their time. The Colonel actually yawned from where he leaned on the hallway wall opposite the young alchemist. Snorting in derision, the kid glared back down the passage, the rhythm of the tapping not breaking, "We're going to be late . . ."

"When you're older, you'll understand that it take women roughly three times as long to get ready as it does men," Roy said with a smirk, "Just learn and suck it up, FullMetal."

Ed snorted again, glaring at the older man. There was a lingering bit of contempt in his eyes, along with anger and a touch of jealousy. Even he had to admit that the tuxedo looked better on Roy than it did him. No matter how much the tailor reassured him it was fit right, Edward still felt awkward, pulling down on the cuffs of the black jacket for about the tenth time. "Stop fidgeting before you wrinkle," Mustang warned, barely able to keep the laughter from his voice.

Biting the inside of his mouth was all he could do to keep from grinning malevolently. This was a better form of torture for the wayward kid than he could have ever devised if he tried. Ed growled lowly, tugging on the starched collar of the white shirt and the black bow-tie underneath, "Easy for you to say. Why couldn't you let me wear the black shirt and red tie? I'd look less like a copy of you."

"Bullshit, you're too uptight to look anything like me," Roy scowled at him, more insulted by the implication that Ed knew, "Besides, the unwritten dress code for these things is black-tie, just go with it."

"This is the first and last time I'm going to anything this remotely formal again."

"My, won't Miss Rockbell be disappointed when you don't ask her to the Fuhrer's Midwinter Military Ball. But then again, she must be used to it as you've never asked anyone to it before," Mustang mused, rubbing a gloved hand under his clean-shaven chin, "I wonder if she'd accept if I asked her . . ."

Of course, Roy knew he would do no such thing, but he'd seen FullMetal's soft spot in regards to the girl. It was too tempting not to goad the brat just a little. Ed's glare at the Colonel became murderous while he stood completely oblivious to the midget's rising temper. The only way Roy Mustang would ask Winry out anywhere was over his cold corpse. Even then he was positive Al would defend her honor . . . that was if she still had an honor to defend. Groaning, Ed went back to staring down the hall, "You won't get a chance. When this is all over, I'm going back to Rizembool with her, Al, and my suitcase for leave."

"What about the Stone?"

"There haven't been many rumors lately after Lior, at least nothing requiring immediate attention. After this long, it can wait a little while longer."

Roy blinked, not quite believing the kid's words. But then again, he didn't have a reason to lie about his intentions. Slowly, the Colonel's look of disbelief turned into a grin, "Well, I'll be damned. Maybe you aren't such a tight wad of a pip-squeak after all."

"Who are you calling a pip-squeak so small he's tinier than lint?!" Ed yelled, jumping back up and fisting his hands.

"I take it back. You're never going to change that easily."

Just when the young alchemist opened his mouth argue that point for the sake of arguing, there was a clicking of heels on the wooden floor. They both looked up to see Riza standing at the end of the hallway, poised with one hand on her hip that was cocked to the side. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

From their mutual blank stares, she could tell she wasn't going to get an answer anyway. She grinned. From the way their mouths had dropped open, she'd chosen the right gown. Roy was dumbfounded, absolutely beside himself as he watched the blonde walk towards him. If she'd worn that dress before the whole betting fiasco that started their relationship, he would have absolutely begged her for a date, a series of dates, every date he'd ever take again in his life.

The black silk chiffon just about floated in the air as she moved, like a cloud of darkness following her. Held up by thin beaded straps of onyx crystals on her shoulders, the neckline dipped in a low V to her bust, showing a generous amount of cleavage. The fabric was gathered in fine pleats down over her abdomen to the juncture of her legs. Another piece of silk wrapped over her hips in the illusion of being tied in place. A separate panel hung over the massive splits in the flowing skirt up the front of her legs, the finely pleated silk pooling on the floor behind her. Riza stopped before him, slowly turning for his inspection.

There was no back to her gown, a clear sight from her shoulders to just above her hips.

"Oh God . . ." Roy groaned, clamping a hand over his mouth to muffle his words, "Do I want to know where you've hidden all those guns and ammo?"

The Lieutenant beamed at him. She pulled up one side of the gown's skirts to reveal the pistons and ammunition clips strapped to her leg in garters and holsters that looked as frilly as they did sturdy. Without thinking, Mustang placed a hand over FullMetal's eyes, "For goodness sake, woman, he's too young to see that! Put it away!"

Ed snarled, shaking the hand off, "Like hell I am!"

Riza laughed, dropping the fabric back in place, "There's another set on the other side, one in my handbag, and two smaller ones in places you don't want to know."

Roy doubted that as he really, really wanted to know! It took most of his self control to keep from wanting to take the gown off of her right then and there. The only thing that stopped him was that they'd be even later to the ballet if he did . . . and the presence of the midget. Later, much later, he silently swore, he'd strip search his beautiful Lieutenant for those guns and he would enjoy every filthy, sinful moment of it.

Once the lust had passed, he had to admit that she indeed looked gorgeous tonight. From the light make-up on her face, to how her pale yellow locks were held back from her face with small jeweled clips, he couldn't help just stare. Idly, he reached up to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear, admiring the dangling earrings of diamonds set in white gold weighted down by black pearl teardrops. It matched the short necklace hanging from her throat adorned with a larger pearl more steely grey than midnight black. He even liked the dark opera length gloves she wore with a diamond bracelet on one wrist. For tonight, Roy felt like the luckiest man in the world, and his grin showed it. At least he was grinning until Edward spoke up, "Congratulations, Riza. I think you've succeeded in turning Colonel Bastard into Colonel Speechless."

"Shut up, FullMetal."

"Correction, Colonel Asshole is more accurate."

"Shut up unless you want to be char-broiled, shrimp!"

"Make me, Colonel Flamer!"

Roy was about to yell back, another insult on the tip of his tongue when there was a click of metal on metal in the air. Looking up, Riza held a gun pointed at the both of them, the top of her beaded handbag turned open. "One more uncivil word out of either of you, and I will shoot you both," she threatened, glaring.

Slowly, both of the men backed down, sheepishly avoiding looking at each other and her. Sighing, she put the weapon away then turned to Roy, "You're packing too right."

Grumbling to himself, Mustang opened his tuxedo jacket, flashing the shoulder hostler strapped to him and the gun within it. Before he could stop her Riza moved forward and reached around to his back, finding a second pistol tucked into the back of his pants. Despite himself, Roy flustered at her closeness, holding his hands up to keep from touching her. He could tell even putting one finger on her would be bad, especially this close as he could see straight down her naked back. Losing his self-control right now was not an option, digging up every un-sexy thought he could summon. Maes and his damned photos again, Havoc with a hangover, Armstrong and those damned sparkles . . . Roy shuddered. "Um, are you done yet?" he asked while noticing how she lingered, her arms wrapped over him.

The Lieutenant blushed a shade deeper than her make-up before pulling away entirely, "Just making sure everything is secure . . . sir."

Nothing could have stopped Ed from snickering at the sight of the two adults, or the Lieutenant's words, "If you're both finished . . ."

Roy scowled at him, angrily buttoning his tuxedo jacket again and shoving his hands in his pockets, "We are."

"Gloves in place?"

"Underneath the top pair," he said frowning at her, "Those are the last thing I'd forget you know."

Riza tried not to look too put out by his words, unconsciously reaching up to straighten the Colonel's tie, "You do know how to use them, sir?"

"I've fired guns before. I'm not as good as you, but it's an insurance policy just in case."

"Just in case you get wet, you mean," Edward said with a smirk, gaining another scowl from Mustang. This time the Lieutenant looked darkly at him too, and his amusement died a slow death. "Ok, ok, no more pot-shots tonight," he grudgingly muttered, crossing his arms over his chest, "She is taking a good long while . . ."

His foot went back to tapping nervously while watching the hallway. A minute later, there was the sound of a door in the distance, and heels on the wood floor before Winry came into view. The tapping stopped, and for a moment, so did the beating of Edward's heart.

It then started again with a clenching in his chest and a very big intake of breath, one he held in tight. Watching the girl slowly walk down the hallway with a nervous look in her blue eyes started a funny twitch on the corner of Ed's mouth, unable to keep from staring at her. Every part of him felt rather twitchy, trying desperately to stay within his own skin. Seeing the brilliant smile on Winry's face though made it hard to do as he muttered under his breath, once more finding religion, "Holy shit . . ."

Purple was his new favorite color on her at least.

The silk satin gown was strapless in a straight line across Winry's bust and corseted tightly till her small curves were not so small anymore. Two layers of skirts were attached to the deep V at her waist, the first pulled up and draped in large pleated around her hips while the second fell to the floor and trailed behind her. The vibrant silk was further painted with a flow of stylized black and lavender flowers that trailed from the corset down over skirts till the entire hem looked like a walking garden. The long gloves she wore matched the color of the gown, as did the amethyst studded bracelet she wore on one wrist, the same shade of vivid purple with a hint of darkness.

Her pale hair was coiled up on the back of her head, leaving a single tail to fall past her shoulders. All the metal in her ears was replaced by a series of finer white gold hoops and amethyst cuffs, but it was nothing compared to the collar around her neck. Ed was fairly certain that the delicate, open framework of white gold adorned with white diamonds and amethyst teardrops had cost someone a fortune. It was probably his fortune, but to look at her, he'd spend it all over again.

Winry looked beautiful, the only word he could apply to her out of all the other adjectives circling in his head. Sure, he'd thought of her as beautiful many times before, but this was a different beauty, one that wasn't hidden under automail grease, one for the world to see. And yet, touch of jealousy spread through him, not wanting the rest of humanity to realize for one night only what he knew already. His amber eyes looked torn when they gazed into hers, going between fear and adoration before settling on the latter. He couldn't help smiling at her, the words he wanted to say going to his eyes instead.

She'd noticed the reactions as each one passed across Ed's face, and it was flattering, very flattering, and gratifying. To think she had this much of an effect on the FullMetal Alchemist made her walk with a little more confidence rather than as if she was on eggshells. She couldn't help it with the shoes on her feet, trying not to wobble on them at least not until she had a hand on him for support. Fate, though, seemed to have a difference of opinion. Walking delicately with the skirt lifted in her hand, the illusion of the grace she didn't possess shattered with a staggering trip forward.

Ed sprung to catch Winry by the elbows, holding her close till she regained her balance. For a moment, there was a very heated look in his eyes, making her blush pink all over. Even after she got her feet under her, they remained almost locked together, hugging . . . but not. Their actions and stuck glances weren't lost on either of the adults, particularly Roy. The Colonel's dark eyebrows arched upwards at the sight of FullMetal's sudden interest the opposite sex instead of alchemy or the Philosopher's Stone. When the hell did this change take place? And how in the hell did he miss it? Mustang looked about one second away from voicing that question when Riza latched onto his arm, dragging him away from the teenagers. "We should get the coats, come along, sir," she said, resisting the urge to wink back at them.

Dazed, he let himself be led away, not about to argue with the sexy woman on his arm out of fear of her arsenal. It didn't dampen his curiosity though. As soon as they were by the door, Roy turned to his Lieutenant, unable to keep his eyes from looking anything but shocked, "What in the blazes was that back there?"

"Obviously he liked the dress," Riza said as she started pulling the long woolen wrap cloaks they'd purchased for herself and the mechanic from the rack, "And you obviously liked mine, so don't make much about it."

"Oh, please, I know sexual interest when I see it. That kid is going to try to get laid tonight if he doesn't get killed first."

In mock horror that sounded surprisingly real, she gasped at him, her mouth hanging open. "Roy!" she said in a hiss, trying to keep her voice down, "It is absolutely none of our business whatever those two choose to do or not to do, so stick your nose out of it or so help me I'll-!"

Her rant stopped as soon as she noticed the delicious grin on his face. There was something unnerving in his stare too, which made a blush crept over her skin. "Come on. You'll do what?" he taunted her, moving closer till she was trapped between the wall and him, "I would absolutely love to hear what you'd do to me."

Riza's mouth dropped open, moving up and down nervously till she squashed it. He was doing this on purpose, which started to fuel her anger. The ticket fiasco was bad enough, and his excuse was practically non-existent. She never should have forgiven him in the first place. "If tonight goes as planned, the Hawkeye boarding house is closed. I would suggest you be on your best behavior, sir, if you ever want another overnight stay," she said coolly, taking much pleasure in the deflation of his grin.

"You always have to hit below the belt don't you?" Mustang asked rhetorically, pouting. The Lieutenant's red-painted lips unconsciously moved into a grin. So he could pout after all. "Ah, but it works doesn't it?" she asked as well, turning slightly.

Before she could escape completely, his hand grabbed her upper arm as he leaned in slightly, "You win, no questioning the midget over this, but I demand compensation."

Her blush turned into an inferno in her cheeks, "Roy, we do not have time for-!"

Riza's next tirade was abruptly stopped as the back of his hand brushed her hair from her shoulders then drew up the side of her neck. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" Mustang said lowly, leaning in closer, "Sexy, actually, very sexy."

It took every ounce of dignity Hawkeye had to keep from melting on the spot. Her lips quivered. Ever since entering the hallway, she'd tried to ignore how good he looked in a tuxedo. Then again, Mustang could have made burlap sexy if he tried. In the black suit, he didn't have to try at all which was all the more beguiling. She whimpered with knees pressed together to keep from knocking together as his lips hovered close to hers. This was trouble.

At least until there was a knock on the door.

* * *

Neither Ed nor Winry noticed the exit of the adults. The alchemist's voice had failed him entirely along with the rest of his traitorous body, refusing to let go of the girl. Nothing seemed real to him, the situation, the smile on her face, the light in her blue eyes, nothing. Impending doom seemed miles away, so far gone that he would even find it with a map. And then she giggled, reality setting back in. Edward laughed too, nervous and self-conscious of the fact of how idiotic he was being. The grin on his face was wiped away in an instant as he tried to compose him and find his higher brain functions again. Winry pulled away with a step back, thankfully keeping her feet under her again, "Thank you, for the save I mean."

"Uh, don't mention it," Ed said, starting to reach up to scratch his hair before yanking his arm back down. Well, that was almost stupid. Leaving the house with a lopsided ponytail would have only confirmed his stupidity. This was all her fault for getting him unglued by looking so good. He didn't feel worthy of her at all, a notion that only settled in when he realized that he was looking up at her more so than usual. "You're taller than me," he stated as neutral as he could.

There was no way he was letting his short complex effect him right now even if it was a little obvious. Winry's eyes fell a little. What that all he could say?! He obviously liked her appearance, but was it that hard for him to compliment her? How could he point out that her heels made their height difference all the more obvious? Edward Elric's ability to ruin the mood never seemed to fail. "Oh . . ." she said, trying not to show her disappointment before it seething into roiling anger, "Is that all?"

"What?" he asked, blinking at her. What did she need to do, spell it out for him? Forget being lady-like, where was a wrench when she needed it?

Ed knew right away something was wrong when she stopped smiling. What had he done now? Ok, so those weren't the smartest words he'd ever spoken in his life, but at least it was the truth. For a moment, the blonde looked as if she was holding herself from violence, which only made him more nervous and his mind disappear. Shit, what was he missing? He looked into her blue eyes for some clue before her temper came to full boil. There he found it, disappointment. He was missing something; he just didn't know what it was. Her small fists shook a moment before she hid them behind her back, standing rigid on her heels. "Winry?" Edward asked quietly, knowing she was about to explode.

Indeed, she was very close to pounding him where he stood when her wrath was tempered by a knock on the door. With a swish of silk, and a barely audible sigh, she walked past him to the door. The Colonel and Miss Hawkeye were already there speaking with another man in a tuxedo, one she'd seen the other day. Ed came up behind her, frowning, "Looks like our ride is here."

"Who is it?"

"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, a friend."

Winry blinked at him, her eyebrows furrowing a moment, "Why is he here? Isn't it against policy or something for him to be using personnel as chauffeurs or something?"

"It's nothing, relax. He's just escorting us since the Colonel's a little worried about security, just procedure," Ed lied, trying not to shuffling his feet while looking away from her anyway. No, he didn't convince her at all as she took a deep breath. Something smelled fishy about the whole situation as her pink-painted lips pursed, but . . .

No matter how much her eyebrows knitted together, she stayed silent about her suspicions. The other day she said that she trusted him and by choosing not to ask this was her, trusting him, or so she thought. After a polite introduction, and the jostling of coats, hats, scarves, and wraps, they proceeded out of the building in a small troop. For some reason, the mood wasn't a joyous or as romantic as she'd pictured it being on Ed's arm. There was a definite grim determination about all of them, and it chilled her more that the winter breeze at night once they passed outside. For some reason, Edward lagged a little behind once they were out the door till she felt like he was almost dragging him along. Huffing out a cloud of moist steam, Winry let go of his arm and turned on him, sounding more upset than she intended, "What is it, Edward? Why aren't you happy?"

Was it that bad to go on a formal date with her? It seemed that way from the touch of fear in his amber eyes. He took one glance at Colonel Mustang and the two Lieutenants, who were standing by the car watching the pair, and then looked at her. "I'm not happy if you're not happy, and you aren't happy . . . are you?" he asked in all sincerity.

Winry's previous anger at him, and bewilderment fizzled, leaving her back to what she originally felt when he didn't compliment her at least, disappointment. Gathering up her courage, she confessed, "No, I'm not happy . . ."

Ed looked disappointed too, slightly hunched before a thought occurred to him. She could see the wheels turning in his head like usually, almost smirking as he was obviously trying to come up with a way out. The blonde was about to call him on it when he reached forward and tugged her towards the snow. Winry yelped, nearly sliding in the heels and stopping abruptly before her dress got ruined, "Edward! This is no time for-!"

Letting go of her hand, he trudged through the snow anyway, oblivious to getting it all over his clothes. "Stay there then!" he shouted as he started to crouch down before he remembered something, "And close your eyes!"

"What?!"

"I know you hate it when I do alchemy, so close them!"

Sighing, she did as he asked with gloved hands over her eyes to keep from looking. At least Ed was considerate enough to remember her fear. Watching him and Al do alchemy for her the first time had been slightly traumatizing, leaving her unable to stand repeat performances no matter how innocuous the results. And yet, as soon as she heard his hands clap together, and the surge of blue-white light, her fingers drifted open slightly. Winry's gasp was inaudible over crackle of power, fresh green stems sprouting right from the snow. Within moments, the light and sound coalesced into a petite bush crowned with roses in full bloom. They were the same violet shade as her gown, making her gasp again. Ed looked up at the sound, panicked that she'd seen too much till he saw the awe in her blue eyes while she clasped her mouth. "Maybe . . ." she started to say, slowly lowering her hands away, "Maybe alchemy isn't so bad after all."

Proud and slightly bashful at the same time, the alchemist plucked off a handful of flowers, pruning them of their stems and thorns. "I know they aren't much, but . . ." Ed said as he stopped in front of her, pressing them into her hands, "But . . . mom always was happy with the flowers my father made. I thought you might like them too."

Winry's smile turned back to radiance again, making Edward's heart do somersaults. She did have a way of making him feel a world better with just a look. "Thank you," she said, lifting the roses to smell them.

Ed's heart flipped again, sure that he'd die right there whether he got shot or not.

Slowly, she lifted them to her hair, intending to stick the stems through the blond coils to wear them. Unsure of how the flowers looked, or if they were even secure, Winry asked, "Could you help me? I don't know if I got it."

"But you look beautiful already."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the alchemist turned ten shades of red. He did not just say that did he? He did indeed say just that while her smile went from heartwarming to heart-arresting. Trying to keep his heart from beating right out of his chest, Ed ignored her expression, reaching up instead to fiddle with the flowers. It was all he could do to keep from turning into mindless, drooling idiot. Finished, he was about to pull his raised arms away when Winry caught him by the elbows, tugging him closer towards her. His blush turned back up till he probably tomato-red, "Uhhhhh, what are you-?"

"Don't you want to kiss me?" she asked as his mouth dropped open. In that moment, every part of him except for what little remained of his common sense screamed at him to do just that. The way she leaned in was temptation enough, warm breath over his cheeks contrasting with the cold air. Could he chance it? Oh, how he so wanted to, especially as she hovered just by his lips. She was almost begging to be kissed Ed stole a quick glance at the other officers, seeing how Lieutenant Hawkeye had Colonel Busybody preoccupied for the moment and turned the other way. It was now or never. Wrapping his arms tightly over Winry's neck, he covered her lips with his while she squealed in at the suddenness.

Her voice then dropped into a murmur that sounded like a moan, unable to do anything else under the assault of his mouth. Ed didn't let up even as her fingers clenched his shoulders. Her head tilted to the side, letting his tongue slip into her mouth as he poured ever emotion he felt for her into his lips. If this was the last kiss he got before dying, he was making sure it was one to remember. It seemed like an eternity or just a fleeting moment when he finally let her go, trying not to gasp for air. Winry's eyes had drifted closed only to open again with a flutter of lashes and a dazed look, "Wow . . ."

Ed had the same thoughts exactly, reluctantly letting go of the beauty in his arms.

"We should be going," he said, sounding a touch depressed, "We're going to be late."

"We'll be right on time."

There was reassurance in her voice, and he believed her moving back on the path to take her arm. The blush in her cheek was bright pink, unsteady again in the heels as they clicked over the stones. Idly, the back of her hand ran up his coat sleeve, drawing his attention till he looked into her eyes. "You look very handsome in a tuxedo, Edward, and mature. You should dress up more often," Winry said with a grin, watching his amber eyes widen.

"Really?"

"Better than Colonel Mustang to me at least. I always did like your hair in a ponytail too."

His heart jumped once more, a stupid grin plastered all over his face. She giggled, effectively wiping the grin away till he grumbled, "You're just saying that to be nice."

"Hummmm, ask me that later when I rip it off of you."

Ed's mouth dropped open, almost sure his nose was about to gush with blood till he took one giant breath. This was going to be a very, very long night.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 12, The Turning Point. 


	12. The Turning Point

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 12 – The Turning Point

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: This really is the turning point of this story. Fluff has been a predominant plot fixture, but to warn now, it's going away. Everything from here on out will go down hill very quickly. That said, I'm begging you, dear readers, for the enjoying of everyone else reading this fic eventually, don't spoil it by giving away the plot twists about to drop from here on out to the end of the climax (heh). Given the build up to this point, it would be a disservice to your fellow readers.

Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. I'm "borrowing" Stravinsky's The Firebird for the ballet performance since it's around the same time period roughly and was a part of the Ballet Russes (wiki them both and further your mind). If you can find the 1919 suite (it was on the Fantasia 2000 soundtrack), I'd recommend listening to that while reading. Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

A very surreal feeling took over Edward Elric as he walked through the lobby of the Conservatory for the Arts of Central City with Winry on his arm. It felt like he was dreaming it, the dim sound of an orchestra tuning up in the distance. The light of the massive gas lanterns lighting the arched ceiling of the lobby made the whole place seem warmer and hazier than the cold winter outside. The milling crowd didn't help either. He'd never seen so many tuxedos or women in fancy dresses before, trying not to gawk like the kid he partially was. And yet, the squeeze of the girl's hand on his upper arm through the fabric and steel was all too real, bringing him back to his senses. Ed smiled at her, noticing the amount of stares she was getting after removing their winter garb by the glass doors. "I told you. You do look beautiful," he whispered to her with a grin, watching the blush spread over her face along with a smile that turned devilish.

"No, they're not. They're all probably wondering what I'm doing with such a shrimp."

"Who are you calling-!" he started to yell till she shushed him with a hiss, "It's unfair that you're taller than me. Why couldn't you wear flats?"

"Because I would be out of place without heels," Winry tried not to roll her eyes while he sheepishly looked away. Riza was right. She should have been more concerned with Ed making a scene than herself.

Sighing softly, he went back to watching the crowd around them, looking for familiar faces. So far he had seen Vito Falman, Breda Heymans, Kain Fuery, and Maes Hughes all dressed in tuxedos, wandering in and out of the lobby with near clockwork intervals. He would have been impressed with Colonel Mustang's plan thus far . . . if he hadn't seen Alexander Armstrong's massive figure trying to part the crowd when he arrived for his patrol. Ed froze as Winry leaned over towards him, "Isn't that the Major who brought you and Al home that one time? Why is he here?"

"Uhhhh," he started to say, unable to think of a lie. Roy must have seen the distressed look on the young alchemist's face when he turned around, asking, "What is it?"

"Major Armstrong, we didn't expect him here tonight, right?" Ed said, hoping the bastard would take the hint in his voice.

Mustang grinned, "Are you that surprised to find him at the ballet given his sparkling personality?"

Winry giggled, "You're right, sir. I just didn't expect to see him here of all places. There must be a lot of military people here tonight."

"More than you'd believe . . ." Ed muttered under his breath. He wasn't sure if she had heard him or not, but before she could ask anything else, Havoc interrupted, "Colonel, let me take care of the coats for you please, only fifteen minutes before the curtain rises."

Roy nodded, tossing his and Riza's coats toward the tottering man already burdened with the ones from Ed and Winry. For a moment, the First Lieutenant looked worried as he shuffled away. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea to leave Jean with the coat check. Just as she turned back to Mustang to complain, something caught her eye, or rather someone.

It was her, Margie, the same woman who had her hands all over the Colonel just a few days ago.

How could she be missed as she sauntered through the doors, flaming red curls and all? Her gown stood out among the other women around her, strapless forest green silk satin that trailed in skirts so long that they swept the floor. The woman hung on the arm of a tall man that looked a little too rough around the edges to be the usual patron of a ballet premiere. He filled out the tuxedo with his massive form till he looked like a proverbial gorilla in a monkey suit. If he was a date then she had unusual taste in men, especially if she was still hung up over Mustang. No, the man Margie latched onto had to be a bodyguard, but why bring one to the ballet?

Hawkeye's frown deepened as the woman glanced towards them, trying to make eye contact with Roy who was oblivious to her while chatting with FullMetal and Winry. Then her green eyes locked on Riza's brown, glaring daggers at her before turning sharply and looking ahead. There was menace in that stare, even if it didn't once intimidate or even jolt the Lieutenant from staring back. Obviously, Margie hadn't forgotten about Mustang at all. Her appearance at the ballet also raised every hair on the back of her neck. It could possibly be explained away, but Riza's paranoia wasn't listening.

Suddenly, she had a bad feeling.

Roy's hand on her shoulder shocked her out of her thoughts, making her jump slightly in surprise. He blinked as she exhaled slowly to calm herself, dark eyebrows knitting together a moment, "You ok?"

"Yes, just lost in my head a moment."

"This isn't a time to be unfocused, Riza," he whispered in her ear, his gloved hand brushing her cheek. The touch soothed her rattled nerves. She nodded, composed again, "I'm fine . . . fine."

Roy didn't believe her for a second, but whatever had spooked his Lieutenant was something she didn't seem willing to share. When he turned back to Ed, cutting into the shrimp's conversation, Hawkeye glanced back at the redhead in green, wondering if it was sheer coincidence or . . . not. Either way, it was clear the woman still had her sights on Mustang, literally, which would stop one way or another.

Riza tugged on the Colonel's jacket sleeve, getting his attention, "I don't trust Havoc with our coats. You never know what trouble he could get in to. I think I'll go help him."

He looked at her curiously, "But it'll start soon. Why are you-?"

A fake smile was plastered on her lips before he grew too suspicious, "Because this is Jean Havoc we're talking about surrounded by a sea of society debutants. Why don't you take them to the box? I'll be there shortly."

Roy was still skeptical, smile or no smile on her face. Something was up, "Lieutenant, is there something I should know?"

"I . . . I'll tell you later, sir. Really, I just want to make sure he's alright," Riza said, and Mustang softened, nodding to her. She turned away and made her way through the crowd. For some reason, his eyes couldn't leave the bare back of her gown, not out of desire, but out of paranoia. She knew something he didn't, and that always worried him about the woman. He should have ordered her to talk for the sake of their mission, but he couldn't, at least not yet. Roy turned back to Ed, who was still talking to Winry, breaking in to their conversation once again, "Alright, you two, show's about to start. Let's go."

* * *

Finding the coat check area of the Conservatory was easy, but finding Havoc in the middle of the line was not. Pushing her way through the throng of people trying to finish handing in their coats before the rise of the curtain wasn't easy either. Riza managed though, nearly bumping into the Second Lieutenant in the process. "Uh, ma'am? What are you doing here?" he asked, blue-grey eyes blinking in surprise, "Shouldn't you be with the Colonel?"

"New orders, Lieutenant," she leaned in close to speaking softly, "Something unforeseen has come up, and I need you to watch someone."

He blinked again before narrowing his eyes on her, "Who? Does the Colonel know about it?"

"No, he doesn't. He doesn't know she's even here, and I intend to keep it like that."

"But, ma'am, I have to patrol the gallery and boxes with the others. I can't disobey a direct order . . ."

"Havoc, please, I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't have a strong suspicion that something is very off here," Riza said, her eyes pleading with him. Maybe it was the worry in her voice that she didn't bother to mask, or those eyes of hers, but Jean could feel himself caving ever so slowly. No wonder the Colonel had gone soft around the First Lieutenant. He was only her friend, and even he couldn't resist those big brown eyes and all their sincerity. "What do you need to do?" he muttered, fidgeting with the coats in his arms.

"I need you to follow a woman that's here tonight, and keep your eye on her. Flirt, seduce, cajole, anything. Just keep her away from the Colonel and distracted."

"You're asking me, the man with such horrible luck with women, to distract a lady? . . . You really must be desperate."

She couldn't help but smile, "She's beautiful too, a knockout."

Havoc's eyebrows shot up, "I'm listening."

"Redhead, so much red that you can't miss her, and worn in curls. Petite, can't be over 5'5", too many curves to be anything but distracting, jade green eyes, fair skin, wearing a forest green gown that's so hard not to notice, and-."

"And as flirty as she is vicious?"

Riza blinked, "How did you . . .?"

"Her name isn't Margie, is it?"

The Lieutenant's mouth dropped open in shock, nearly screeching when her voice recovered, "How in the-?"

"She came to the office one day looking for the Colonel a few months back, when you and him had those 'off days' together. She's kind of hard not to forget. I've seen her hanging around Headquarters since then, and down by the Quartermaster's office. I think she said once she was associated with a supplier."

Hawkeye swallowed the loud gasp before it tore through her throat and caused a scene. Her bad feeling tripled into something worse. "Did she leave a name?" She asked tensely, "A full name?"

"Marguerite Ever-something, I think," Jean asked, suddenly curious.

Riza's head swam, the paranoia turning up a few more notches till she was almost shaking, "Everard?"

"Yeah, that's it."

She felt faint. Oh, that would be wonderful, to just collapse right there in an evening gown at the coat check with only Havoc to witness it. She'd never live it down. For a moment, the Second Lieutenant looked frightened, watching her go pale then sway slightly, her month moving up and down like a suffocating fish. "Lieu-uh, ma'am? You ok?" he asked.

No, she was definitely not ok. Didn't Havoc get it? That woman, the same one with too much of a personal interest in her man, was somehow now connected to their case. Her fingers itched to draw her guns, corner the woman, and forcibly get to the bottom of this, but she couldn't, not till she talked to Roy. They didn't know who their killer was yet, only that this Margie woman was involved behind the scenes. It wasn't him their assassin was after anyway . . . was it?

Riza turned absolutely white as she wasn't so sure anymore. She had to find the Colonel. "Don't let her out of your sight, Jean Havoc. That's an order," she said before turning abruptly and stomping off, a grim expression on her face, "And watch out. She's got some tough guy with her."

"Uh, yes, ma'am," he called after her as she disappeared back into the crowd.

Why did he have a bad feeling about her orders of him now too? He really wished be could light up a smoke at that moment if he hands weren't so full of clothes. "Fucking paranoia, like a goddamned disease," he muttered under his breath, stepping up closer to the front of the line, "What the hell am I gonna do now?"

* * *

Running in high heels was something Riza Hawkeye never liked to do. It didn't help that doing exactly that through the halls of the Conservatory for the Arts was very, very improper. Instead, she walked with all the quickness and assurance of a woman with a mission. Then again, that was exactly what she was at the moment. After handing in her ticket to an usher, finding the box wasn't a challenge. She did have the layout of the building mapped out in her head after all, along with all the possible exits. Each step she took closer to the doorway to box ten made her more uneasy though. Roy was fine. She was sure of it, but she herself wasn't fine at all. Havoc's revelation scared the living hell out of her till she clutched her purse in a fist, knuckles white with tension.

They should abort the mission, put both Ed and Roy in deeper, proper hiding, and corner this woman. Maybe that was her paranoia talking again. She didn't know, and couldn't think of anything at that moment but Mustang's safety. All it would take was one shot from an assassin's rifle to kill the Flame Alchemist, and shatter every part of her world. But what good was she if she couldn't think straight?

A bang behind her set Riza into motion, halting mid-step to pivot on her heel. Her hand went for one of the guns strapped to her thighs, about to draw the weapon when she saw who and what it was. She exhaled in a ragged sigh, "For goodness sake, Hughes, you scared the daylights out of me."

Maes looked at her like a spooked deer, grasping fruitlessly at the stand and framed picture he'd stepped into and toppled over. He gave up, laughing nervously while scratching the back of his head. Eventually, the laughter stopped under her glare, "I-err, sorry. You were moving so fast I bumped it trying to catch up."

Taking a deep calming breath, she asked the most obvious question, "Why were you trying to catch up, Hughes?"

"Well, I did get these new picture developed of-."

Her trigger finger itched, "I don't have time for it, sir, sorry, but the performance is about to start."

"I know, lighten up a little . . . You're as pale as a ghost, which is why I wanted to stop you. Something's wrong, isn't it?" Maes asked as Riza's eyes shuffled sideways, "Lieutenant . . ."

"What do you know about the name Marguerite Everard?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Margie? Roy used to date her back in East City. She was a bit of a hellion, and definitely one to avoid dating despite being gorgeous as hell, and rich. Why do you ask? Jealous?" Hughes asked, fighting down a grin.

Hawkeye's cheeks flamed, "I am not jealous, that, that hussy is here tonight. According to Havoc, she's come to Headquarters asked about the Colonel, and is connected with one of the military's suppliers. Her name was under Delmark Arms board of directors. I don't know how she's connected, but she is. What else do you know?"

The Lieutenant Colonel paled too, scratching his head again "She, um, well . . . their break up was rather nasty, about the time of the whole Scar fiasco. It involved lots of broken objects. The civilian police were called to break it up, and Roy called me to take him home. After that, all I had to do was mention Margie and he'd get this sour look on his face and shudder . . ." suddenly his mouth dropped open, his voice almost non-existent, "You don't think she's bent on killing him do you?"

The grim set of Riza's painted lips told him enough.

"Holy shi-!" She shushed him before he could complete the curse, but it didn't stop his mouth completely, "It can't be possible. It's too . . . messed up. Our assassin is after FullMetal . . . right?"

"That's what I don't know. Why try to kill Edward? He's just a kid. Outside of the office, Roy isn't connected to him at all."

"Before you get too worked up, we need to confirm Havoc's story. Breda would remember her probably. Go talk to Roy. He needs to know about this anyway."

Her heart sunk a little. She didn't really want him to know. Mustang wouldn't believe her. She knew how he thought. He'd jump right to the same conclusions Hughes had, paranoia and jealousy. While it wasn't far from the truth, this wasn't personal either. None of them needed to know that she had changed Havoc's orders anyway. Her stomach tightened into knots of uneasiness, but she still managed to nod, "I'll do my best."

Maes nodded and left. Riza turned away as well, her thoughts still brewed and darkening. She'd do her best, alright, but the lingering question was would it be good enough.

* * *

Maybe it was just sheer luck that Jean Havoc managed to find the woman in question by her loud laugh as he tried not to cringe upon hearing it. He might have liked her better if her voice didn't sound like nails on glass when she seemed genuinely happy. At least she was nice to look at, very nice to look at. Seeing the lady again made it very hard to reconcile the image that she was somehow in need of watching except for protectiveness. She was acting too flirty and bubbly with the other men in tuxedos outside of box twenty on the third floor to be anything remotely dangerous. Even the bodyguard Hawkeye had mentioned was no where to be seen. What could the First Lieutenant have been thinking earlier? But, he supposed the woman knew something he didn't. That seemed to be the way things usually went in their department.

Now he had a problem though, how to win the redhead over. That was the part where he usually crashed and burned with the opposite sex. Every previous romantic interest he had since starting under the Colonel's command had all been taken in by his superior's charisma. If he had even an ounce of the man's innate skill and more courage, he probably would have made a move already and not just stood there, fumbling for a plan of attack. Jean shook his head, trying to clear it enough to remember how he'd usually approach a beautiful woman, much less one surrounded by other men. This was hard. He usually didn't attempt such a feat before. Damnit! Why couldn't the Lieutenant ask someone else to do it?! Why him?!

He just had to keep an eye on her, right? Surely Hawkeye couldn't have been serious about asking him to woo the woman, just wanted her away from the Colonel. He could think of something . . .

Just as Havoc took a step forward, a strong hand clapped on his shoulder, hauling him backwards, "That would not be wise, Second Lieutenant, I'm sure you have a patrol to do on the second floor balcony."

Jean paled, slowly turning around to see the massive form of Alex Louis Armstrong in a well tailored black tuxedo looking down at him much too cheerfully. That was one thing he hadn't anticipated, getting caught by the other officers. "Well, you see I was just, um, well-" Havoc tried to say only to be stopped by his gregarious laughter.

"She is by far an exquisite beauty worth of the attention of any man. I have an eye for such things which has been pasted down from generations of my family as is the Armstrong tradition. I'm sure a fine man will be able to catch her eye eventually, but . . ." the Strong Arm Alchemist went on much to Havoc dismay, "Perhaps it would be wiser to try when one of your fellow officers hasn't engaged the lady already?"

The Second Lieutenant's head whipped around to take a look at the men surround the redhead in green once again. He heard a hearty laugh following the woman's own glass-shattering mirth. It sounded like Heymans's voice. Sure enough, as soon as some of the men wandered off, there was Breda grinning like the luckiest man in Amestris. He was speechless, dumbfounded. Even when he didn't really want a girl, someone in their unit always beat him to the goal. He knew the other Second Lieutenant had a thing for redheads, but how did he know about her? Was it dumb lucky? Either way, it shook Jean's confidence to an all time low. He got beaten by Breda before he even had a chance.

Armstrong grabbed Havoc's shoulder again, pulling him along when he saw the look of utter despair on the man's face, "Chin up, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. I am sure there's of other beauties here tonight at the ballet. Oh the artistry! The gracefulness! The strength! My great aunt was a prima ballerina in the Drachmarian Royal Ballet before marrying my great uncle, their children followed in their beautiful heritage as is the Armstrong family tradition, and-."

Jean tuned out the rest of the Armstrong family tree lecture, heading down the stairs to the next floor as Alex went on, and on, and on. He was about ready to shoot himself with the gun nestled in the holster on his shoulder when it occurred to him that it was probably a good thing Breda was occupying the woman. It meant he wouldn't have to hear her laughter ring his brain from his ears. How could the Colonel have stood her? But thinking back to the way that strapless dress clung to all those curves, he could see why. At least Heymans had a handle on the, err, situation now. Taking another step down, he tried not to think of what the First Lieutenant would do to him if she found out that he ditched her direct command. Maybe he'd go check on them later . . . if he could escape from Armstrong sparkling presence.

"Did I ever tell about the time my sister Katherine tried ballet lessons?"

"No, but I think you're about to tell me," Jean deadpanned, his brain checking out as Alex launched into the tale. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Roy sat there bored, slightly annoyed by the pair of teenagers talking softly with giggling from the girl every so often. He never should have proposed this idea of going to the ballet. They obviously weren't mature enough for real cultural appreciation yet. He was also annoyed by the fact that Ed was obviously flirting with Winry. When the hell did the kid learn to flirt with girls? And where the hell did the paternal nudge in him to separate the two of them come from? Riza was right. It wasn't any of his business, but he'd damned just to sit there as a responsible adult, and let the brat take advantage of Miss Rockbell, no matter how much it seemed like she wanted to be taken advantage of.

Who was he kidding anyway? He was about as responsible in his private behavior as drunken monkeys with open cages. At least, that was until Riza became a permanent fixture in his life. Grudgingly, he turned away at the next bout of laughter, resting his cheek on a gloved hand while slouching in the chair. Speaking of his woman, she was cutting it awfully close as more of the theater audience filled in. Roy pulled out his silver pocket watch, checking the time. Just three minutes till the curtain rose, and he needed to concentrate, not worry about her as well. It was agitating, this paranoia that hung over him since the start of all the mayhem. He didn't know who to be more worried about anymore, the kid, his girlfriend, or himself.

Ed stopped a moment when he caught the pensive look on the Colonel's face, and the not-so-subtle drumming of his fingers on the wooden armrest. He smirked, "Lose someone?"

"Can it, FullMetal."

"You know, I always did wonder what you ever did without her. Now I know, it's absolutely noting," he said, grinning at the spark in the Flame Alchemist's eyes. Or at least he was grinning till a hand struck him across the back of the head. Cowering in pain, Ed reared back at Winry, clutching his skull, "What was that for?!"

"You know well enough, keep it down, bean boy, before the audience looks at us and not the stage," she hissed, her voice low despite the sharp words. Ed muttered resisting the urge to rub the abused portion of his scalp. Roy shot her a grateful look, even if the young alchemist did have a point. Whatever would he do without Hawkeye?

There was the sound of heels on marble coming from the curtain behind them, and Mustang turned to see the lady he was worried about pulling back the fabric. For some reason she looked paler than normal, and her face more drawn despite the perfection of her make up. Something was wrong, and it raised every alarm in the back of his head. Not saying a word, she reached for his hand, "Can I have a word with you, Roy? Before the performance?"

Roy glanced over to see Edward looking at them, obviously worried too after one look at the Lieutenant, then looked back at the anxiousness in Riza's brown eyes. This wasn't a conversation for their little box. "Sure," he said as he stood up, following her out.

No sooner had he drawn the curtain closed behind them when her composure crumbled completely, "Something's wrong, sir, we should abort."

"Wrong? What's wrong? What happened? This isn't like you. You've never suggested to me to abort a mission before, no matter how dangerous, Lieutenant. This had better be pretty close to the worst possible situation," he said as his panic started to rise. What if this was a worst possible situation after all. From the pained look on Riza's face, it might have very well been, and yet, her head turned till she was looking down and to the side. "You're ex is here, Marguerite," she said, and all of Roy's panic drained out.

"Is that all?" he asked, sounding bored.

"No, it isn't just that. She's-"

A smirk sprung up on Mustang's face as he interrupted her, "I thought you weren't the jealous type?"

"I'm not jealous!" Riza hissed at him to keep from yelling the words at him, "How can I be jealous when she slapped you?! It's just pretty damned convenient for her to be here, tonight, of all nights! I don't like it!"

He didn't like the seriousness in the Lieutenant's voice at all, or the rising paranoia. That was worse of an emotion than jealousy. "Why are you letting this get to you, and the mission? She was just some woman I knew. It's over with her. Why are you-?"

"What was her last name, Roy?" she asked much too calmly, a stern glint to her eyes.

"Everard, but that's beside the point-."

"That is the point. Marguerite Everard, Delmark Arms Board of Directors, her name was on the records. Her being here tonight means she's connected somehow, Roy. It's too convenient otherwise."

"So that was the company she worked for? Damn . . . she was rich," the Colonel muttered, before waving her off, "So? It could be anyone in that company."

"But she's the only one any of us had contact with!"

"Yeah, me. The assassins' target is Edward, not me," he said, getting annoyed with her insistence of being wrong on whom they should be protecting, "You're the one that originally said it was him they were after. Do you still stand by that report, Lieutenant?"

"I didn't know what I know-!"

"Do you?"

"I don't know! Havoc told me he's seen her around Headquarters, looking for you!"

"Gee, she did slap me and think we still had a relationship, I wonder why she was looking for me?!" Roy hissed sarcastically in her face, his anger flaring. Riza's temper nearly exploded. Didn't he understand the seriousness of this at all?! It was getting harder to keep her voice down, the urge to shake him or shoot him herself growing, "She was in the Quartermaster's, Roy! She could have seen our forms!"

"She works for an arms company, Riza! You're taking this too personally! Everything you've told me so far can be explained!"

"But then why is she here?!"

"Because it's the ballet! Most of Central's high society is here and a good chuck of the military if you haven't failed to notice! Stop being so jealous and paranoid!"

"You were shot at! I was shot at! Our entire department was shot at! You are not nearly paranoid enough!"

"Why her?! Why are you fixated on her?! You're letting it cloud your judgment and are putting us all at risk!"

"Because she's obsessed with you! You're letting your past with her blind you to the possibility that she's dangerous!"

"She slapped me, Riza, you said it yourself that it was over with her! It's done!"

"She looked at you tonight . . ." Hawkeye said, anger rolling off of her in waves as she tried to rein back in her control, "It wasn't a look a woman gives an ex."

"Men have been looking at you the same way since we arrived. You don't hear me convicting them of conspiracy against the state just for looking at you," Mustang said with enough possessiveness and venom that it chilled the rest of her anger. His hand was balled up in a fist, shaking slightly. Riza's heart sank, the pity of looking at him reflected in her voice, "Roy . . . please . . ."

"You can't convince me that easily."

"Then why did she show up near my door in the first place? How could she know? How could she possibly know you'd be there?" she asked, the question calmly delivered with some resignation. Mustang's reasoning finally kicked as his shoulders slumped. Maybe she had a point in all their arguing. The story from Havoc that Margie had visited their office and the Quartermaster was suspicious. When she stopped him on the street right in front of Hawkeye's apartment, and the phone calls to his home were also highly suspect. She could very well be stalking him, but that had nothing to do with their case, did it? Edward was shot at, not him. And there was that private detective sent after Riza. That particular piece of the puzzle didn't fit either. Margie would just as soon as shot the blonde before him than kill him, not investigate her. It didn't make sense at all, none of it made sense anymore, which it why he had been trying to ignore it. One way or another, both affairs were ending tonight.

"I don't know . . . but I don't know if she's involved either. You know the evidence. Everything you've said is circumstantial at best. We don't even have a motive. Unless she pulls a trigger or we bag a witness and solid proof tonight, what can we do? I can't abort the mission over this."

"But I . . . I know something's going to happen, Roy, I just feel it . . ."

The scared look in her brown eyes propelled Mustang forward on instinct, touching her arm. He was about to pull her into an embrace when she shrugged him off. Instead, she hugged herself, looking off to the side again, "I'm fine . . . just fine."

He didn't believe her at all, but what more could he say?

Nodding, the Colonel turned and walked back through the curtain. Watching him go, Riza's eye slid closed painfully, knowing he didn't believe her at all. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to tell him in the first place. It only made her feel worse, like her grip on reality was slipping. No, she was sure if that were to happen, something completely uncharacteristic of her like crying would be involved. She wasn't delusional, and she wasn't losing 'it'. If Roy chose to ignore the intuition screaming at her, than it was his fault. She took a deep, calming breath, trying to tell herself that everything would be ok, no matter how sure she was that the opposite was true.

Ed knew something was wrong the moment the Colonel came back alone and retook his seat. And if he knew something was wrong, Winry knew something was very wrong. She placed a gloved hand on the young alchemist's, getting his attention. Her mouth moved without words coming out, but her question was clear, 'What is it?'

Edward shook his head and shrugged, and the blonde's face fell slightly. Despite his better judgment, his fingers wove between hers till their hands were clasped, a reassuring smile on his face. Everything was just fine, he hoped. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind when Riza joined them, taking her seat between the two alchemists. Glancing at her, Ed could still see how pale she was, but instead of nervously twittering, the Lieutenant sat as still as a statue. For a moment, he thought to ask if she was alright till he noticed Roy take her hand, entwining their fingers as well. Riza's eyes locked with his, and Ed knew the two adults would be alright no matter what happened.

A forced smile on her face, Hawkeye turned towards the two teenagers, "So, anyone save me a program?"

* * *

Falman leaned over the balcony railing slightly, watching the boxes across the theater below them. There was nothing there but bored men in tuxedos and enraptured women wearing too much jewelry. No guns, no assassins, not even one person sleeping through the performance. It was about fifteen minutes into the first act, and he started to wonder if this whole mission was for nothing. A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to Fuery pointing frantically at box twenty. He was nearly hyperventilating, "L-l-look!"

A touch panicked, the Warrant Officer took the telescoping glasses from the Sergeant Major, focusing on the third floor box in question. He nearly dropped them again, "That was Second Lieutenant Heymans . . ."

Kain nodded.

". . . On top of a beautiful woman?"

His companion nodded more insistently. Blinking rapidly, Falman turned back to the stage, trying to put the image out of his head completely. Who knew Breda had it in him?

Maybe this night wasn't for nothing after all.

* * *

Maes hopped over the stairs with ease, moving up from the first floor to the third. No trouble yet, unless you counted the costumes on the dancers. Those would be lots of trouble if Gracia ever found out. All the tights, short necklines, and pulled up skirts were getting to him a little. Art they called it, but it looked a little too risqué to be just art. The Drachmarians did come up with the weirdest things for such a cold climate. Huffing slightly, he stopped at the second floor landing and took a deep breath, "I don't think I've done this many stairs since basic training."

"Lieutenant Colonel?"

Hughes looked towards the doors over his shoulder to see Havoc blinking at him. "You're not the man I wanted to see," he smirked as Jean frowned.

"Well, hello to you too. Think the ushers would kill me if I smoked in here?"

"Yes, why the hell aren't you on patrol? Get back to work."

"I would, but if I hear one more piece of Armstrong family history I think I'll shoot my brains out."

"Havoc . . ."

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel," Jean said with a smirk and a quick salute, turning to go back. He was half way out the door when Maes remembered that he might know where Heymans was. "Hold on, have you seen Breda on your patrol at all?" Hughes asked.

Havoc shook his head, "Last I saw him he was getting lucky, the same woman that the Colonel dated too."

The color drained from Hughes's face, "Redhead? Green eyes? Short? Absolutely gorgeous?"

"And a glass-shattering laugh? Yeah, why?"

This did not bode well.

"Where is he?"

* * *

Edward eyed the stage with bored contemplation. He really couldn't understand what people liked about this . . . stuff. The music put him to sleep at times, and if there was a plot, he didn't get it. The program said it was a Drachmarian folk tale about a prince that finds a firebird in an enchanted realm and uses its help to free princesses from a demon. That didn't reconcile with the people prancing across the stage. It was colorful though, which was good enough he supposed. And every time he glanced at Winry, there was a look of rapture on her face. That, he thought, seemed to make the boring tediousness worth while.

It was a good thing though that her little golden spyglasses were glued to the stage. She didn't notice him scanning the rest of the theater hall at all. Despite the darkness, he could see almost everything he wanted about the audience. There was almost no movement on the packed balconies, and only some from the boxes. The Colonel has said that was normal. Only the real upper-crust of society or military brass could afford those seats, and they used the performances more for introductions than to watch the ballet. He was getting nervous. It was near the end of the first half, and nothing had happen. Ed glanced over at the pair of adults next to him. They were busy looking around the hall too until Riza stopped long enough to catch his eyes. She slumped slightly from the statuesque posture, shaking her head.

No, he didn't think anyone was out there either.

Just before Edward went back to looking, he felt a hand touch his, Winry's. Looking over at her, she was beaming. Her blue eyes sparkled and he found it hard to suppress his own smile. At least one of them seemed to be enjoying the evening. "I take it you like it?" he asked, trying to suppress the smile came upon his face anyway.

"I love it! The music is wonderful! And the dancing! And the colors! And-!" she said with quiet enthusiasm before realizing her voice wasn't as quiet as she thought, clamping her hands over her mouth, "Sorry."

Ed chuckled, "It's ok. I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"And you aren't?"

How was he going to explain to her that he was just here to potentially be killed any minute now, and that she shouldn't be talking to him so he could look for assassins? . . . Nope, wasn't going to happen. "I like it if you like it," he said, knowing it was the easiest way out.

Winry wasn't fooled for a moment, "You don't like ballet, do you?"

He grinned nervously at her question, resisting the impulse to scratch his head to relieve the tension, "Well . . ."

"It's alright, Ed, I'll just appreciate it as another one of your many sacrifices," she said with a smirk. He slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. Another close one. It felt like a game to him. How many of her questions could he dodge or outright lie to before she figured out the truth? He didn't know, and he never wanted to know. Raising his glasses again, Edward went back to looking at the audience. Again, nothing. He was about to look away when he saw something in the third level of boxes.

It was metallic, shiny metallic, even in the dim light.

The music pulsed suddenly, and his heart jumped into this throat along with most of the audience. It only built up with louder crashes of sound, breaking is concentration for a moment. Looking through the spyglasses again, he was sure of what he saw.

It was a barrel of a rifle.

Ed's heart thundered in his chest, resisting the instinct to duck then and there. No, he needed to wait. Mustang's orders were to wait even if he was staring right at the killer. They had to time it right, and couldn't react early. Everyone else needed to know the location from the sound of the shot. But just staring at the barrel of a gun from the box window reminding him too much of how many times he'd been shot at before. The music crashing through his ears didn't help either. He could almost feel the circle carved under the wooden railing in front of him beneath his fingertips.

Not yet . . .

His amber eyes remained on the gun, watching it. The sniper pointed the end of the barrel towards their box, and his heart leapt again.

Not yet . . .

He was almost sure that he was staring down the rifle, but . . . wasn't? No, it was off center. Ed squinted through the glasses. He was sure of it. The gun wasn't point to his left at Winry either. No, it was pointed at . . .

Just as the music reached a crescendo and came thundering down, Edward sprung from his seat, and lunged right. He sailed over the Lieutenant and crashed onto Roy, knocking the chair back. From the ground, he then touched a tiny circle onto the wood paneled walls. Blue-white light flooded their box along with the crackle of alchemy. The sight of the stage was gone with a slam as the wood covered everything before them. Ed clapped once, and more light and power flowed into the confusion around him. Solid metal sprung up over the wood, erecting another barrier.

Riza was out of her chair as well, rushing over to the Colonel's side as he groaned. She gasped and dropped next to him, blood coming from a gash across his arm. "It's a graze," Roy declared despite the pain, sitting back up, "They missed by a lot?"

"They weren't aiming for me," Ed said from his spot on the floor, frowning, "They were aiming for you."

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 13, Mean Guns. 


	13. Mean Guns

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 13 – Mean Guns

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: I'm begging you, dear readers, for the enjoying of everyone else reading this fic eventually, don't spoil it by giving away the plot twists about to drop from here on out to the end of the climax (heh). Given the build up to this point, it would be a disservice to your fellow readers. Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

The music had stopped.

The panicked screams outside their little box would have been deafening if it weren't for the new walls separating the two alchemists and the two women from danger, for now. There was the sound of rushing, shouting, but no more gunfire. Riza was the first to spring into action in the aftermath, digging into Roy's pants pocket and coming out with a handkerchief. She tied it over the wound on his arm, the white cloth quickly became saturated with blood. Furiously, the usually unflappable Lieutenant was muttering under her breath, "I knew it, I just knew it. How could I be so stupid? So slow? I should have seen it before, but I just knew it."

"Does this mean I'll hear the 'I told you so's' now or later in full chorus?" Mustang asked, frowning at the bandage over his arm.

"No, I'll be saving them for a rainy day," she said in all seriousness till her eyes met his, the unintentional meaning clicking in her head as she slowly grinned, "That isn't what I meant."

"Could have fooled me . . ."

"Roy . . ." Riza said, her slight humor at the disastrous situation dissolving into a threatening glare, "Not now."

"No shit," Ed grumbled across from them, getting back to his feet after he had knocked the Colonel over, "We need to get out of here."

A small whimper of fear came from across the box, and the young alchemist looked over to see Winry's blue eyes staring back at him, as wide as saucers. His heart clenched in his chest while looking at her petrified form pressed back against the wall. The feeling only got worse as her small voice finally spoke, "What's going on, Ed?"

"I'm sorry, Winry. I can't explain now, when we're out of here, and safe, I'll-."

A new emotion flashed across her face. Fear was replaced with anger as the pieces in her head clicked, "This is another one of your missions, isn't it?"

Ed's face fell, unable to deny it any longer, "Well . . ."

The mechanic's face contorted in full fury, taking on the look that came over her before he received a wrench to the head. Before she could even think about finding a weapon to use on him, Riza broke in, "Punish him later. We need to move. Fullmetal, evacuation plan B, now."

He resisted the urge to salute and dropped back down into a crouch at Winry's feet, lifting her skirt. "Ed!" she screeched, pulling a foot back to kick him, "This isn't a time for-!"

Her words were cut off by a clap and rush of light followed by feeling his hands on her shoes. She sunk lowering onto the ground, blinking as he backed away and skittered over towards the Lieutenant. "You transmuted my shoes?" she asked, still in a bit of shock.

"Would you rather run in heels?"

Ed had a point there, which made Winry's mouth snap shut. Roy was back on his feet, pulling off his gloves to reveal a second set underneath, red transmutation circle on the surface. There was another clap, and Riza's heels were suddenly turned into flats as well. Yet, she seemed to ignore the sudden change while messing with her handbag. The pistol that appeared in her hand made the girl's eyes widen in fear. The amount of ammunition she saw in the woman's purse didn't help either. The woman pulled out a strap from within, using it to tie the container over her waist, ready to pull another clip at a moment's notice. "We're taking the stairs down the back to the stage loading dock. From there it's just a dash down the street to the car we arrived in, Roy?" Riza said, pulling the hammer back on the gun.

"I have the spare keys, but we should regroup and stick to the plan. Hughes should be waiting for us on the third floor since-," he tried to explain, dark brows furrowing.

"That was when you weren't the target, Colonel! I will not-!"

She would have shouted at him further if it weren't for the sudden crash of gunfire ringing around them. Despite themselves, everyone in the box ducked at least until it registered that it was in the hall above them. Riza put her head up, listening to the sound, "It's in the distance, maybe one of the balconies. Sir . . . please?"

Her brown eyes turned to Roy, pleading with him to listen. Despite how much he wanted to resist and stick to the plan, she had a point. Everything had changed, whether he liked it or not. "Alright. Take point, Lieutenant. Take the rear guard, FullMetal. Miss Winry . . ." Roy said as he turned to the girl, frowning in a profound sorrow that made his black eyes droop, "I'm sorry . . ."

She nodded, looking down at the carpet, "Thank you, sir . . . I just want to go home . . ."

No more needed to be said after that, even if it took all of Ed's will to keep from saying something. Damnit! Why was he letting the bastard apologize to her in the first place!? He didn't deserve her understanding! This was all Roy's plan and fault to begin with, and Winry was forgiving the prick and not him! He wanted to scream and yell at the unfairness of it all till one look in his girl's blue eyes quelled his temper. She was disappointed in him, and the truth was, he disappointed himself. All he could do now was make sure she was safe. "Edward," Riza called from the curtained passage, snapping his thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Ed fell in line as they filed out. He took one look back at the alchemized wall with regret. His life was off the hook, but suddenly, he wished it wasn't.

* * *

Chaos, utter chaos. Those were the only words Falman and Fuery could describe the state of the balcony as while crouched down against the railing. As soon as the light had flashed from the right side of the hall, panic broke out on the floor beneath them and quickly grew till throughout the auditorium. The screams of terrified women and shouts of men only seemed to grow louder as the audience was on their feet. A crack of gun shots hitting the railing before the two men triggered the stampede, forcing them down as people rushed for the exits.

The sound was deafening, barely able to hear the continued cracking sound of metal shots hitting wood let alone each other. How had they been targeted? How did they know where they even were? Where was Maes or the Colonel when they needed them? Where was anyone that could help them? "These handguns are useless! We need to get to the rifles! Where'd the First Lieutenant assign them?!" Vato shouted over the noise.

"Two sets on this balcony! One to the right and one to the left! They should be in compartments in the floor Major FullMetal made!" Kain yelled back, eyeing the quick moving crowd wearily, "But how are we going to get though that!?"

Falman grabbed the Master Sergeant by the collar and pulled him along. He turned and started crawling towards the right end of the balcony, barely avoiding the feet of people running in the opposite direction towards the doors. The gunfire had stopped at least until they heard return fire from the balcony below them. They both froze at the noise, wondering who it was down there. Havoc and Heymans were supposed to have that floor while Armstrong covered the hallway. "Keep moving. They need help," the Warrant Officer said before crawling once more.

* * *

The hallway ringing the performance hall was packed with people pushing and shoving their way to supposed safety and away from the danger. The two alchemists and their companions seemed to be in the middle of it as they stepped out of the curtained doorway. Riza's natural instinct was to press back against the wall amidst the sea of panicked people before them, nearly cutting off the other three behind her. Stepping to the side, she looked up in time to see someone else struggling through the tide of people and coming straight towards them. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw the man reach into his jacket once Roy came out from behind the curtain. "Down!" she yelled, shoving the Colonel out of the way.

Without thinking, she brought her pistol up and shot.

The sound cracked as more people screamed around them. The man went down clutching his shoulder, disappearing in the new stampede. Riza moved forward to investigate, heartbeat pounding, when a hand grasped her shoulder to draw her back. "Let's go!" Roy shouted in her ear, propelling her away by force.

She turned just in time to see another man coming towards them, shoving through the crowd till he was almost on top of them. Before the First Lieutenant could whip the gun around, a small plume of flames exploded through the air in front of them, coming from Mustang's hand over her shoulder. She shut her eyes tightly at the flash and heat and tried not to add her screams to the others around her, opening them to see nothing but black char at her feet where the man had been. Riza's stomach quivered at the sight and smell. The only thing that settled it again was the relief that they were still alive. Winry emerged next, having the same reaction to the sight that the Lieutenant had suppressed as she covered her mouth and nose, "Oh God . . ."

It took Edward coming up behind the mechanic and hauling her away to keep her from retching. The color drained away from the faces of the two adults as they stood together over the body of their would-be killer. Ed was right. Their assassins were after Roy and had laid in wait for them just in case. They weren't safe there anymore. "What if they know the rest of the plans?" the Colonel asked, barely audible over the screams around them.

That was one question Riza didn't want to know the answer to, "We need to go, sir, now."

She moved forward around the ash and fired a shot straight up into the ceiling. The crowd parted on instinct away from them, giving them a wide opening in which to run. Turning away, she led them through the hallway and passed the rushing crowd towards the set of stairs, not bothering to look back or make sure they followed. Roy's hand on the back of her bare waist was all the reassurance she needed that they were still alive and moving.

* * *

Havoc ducked again as more bullets spray into the railing before him, cracking the wood. The crowd on his level had thinned out to just people jamming through the doors, obvious to all except the need for safety.

Well, this wasn't totally unexpected, but he had been anticipating that he could have at least hit something in that box by now. He just knew their assassin would end up coming from that particular area of the theater hall after speaking with the Lieutenant Colonel. It was the same box on the third floor Heymans was last seen outside, with her. Why did the First Lieutenant have to be so damned right about the woman? He'd been watching closely afterwards, unable to see much till the long barrel emerged from the darkness of the enclosure. Upon the sight of it, he ran for one of the rifles they'd hidden around the theater earlier that week.

That was how he ended up there, crouched under the railing, cursing that Maes had taken Armstrong off his floor to pursue this new development. He was the one being shot at now, damnit! The hail of gunfire stopped, and he popped up again, firing a few more rounds across the theater. Jean ducked again in the return fire, reloading more shots into the rifle. Nothing. He'd hit nothing. As he waited for the enemy to stop and reload, more gunfire exploded from the balcony above him, the sudden crack making him wince. It sounded like two shots. Fuery and Falman were on that floor. Guess he wasn't alone anymore. "Took you both long enough!" Havoc shouted, turning to shoot as the enemy sprayed upwards instead of on his position.

Having been bought enough time, Jean looked through the rifle's scope, barely able to make out the movement in the dark box. If Breda was still in there, somewhere, he couldn't see him. "Shit . . ." he cursed, realizing the only thing he could see clearly was the gun before he was being shot at again.

He ducked. What was he going to do? He had to hit something. If they could kill this bastard assassin now then it would all be over, and this strange case could go down in department history. Major FullMetal would be safe, for a little while, and office life could return to normal. Normal, yeah, like that would ever happen. Since when was any of their lives ever normal? Fire returned from above him, and the assassin's bullets went up again to the third balcony. Havoc popped up, aimed into the darkness of their target's location, and opened fire.

The gunfire from within the box stopped.

"Yes!" Jean shouted in triumph, fist pumping in the air, "Take that you fucking bastards!"

His celebration was cut short as a rumble jolted the floor under his feet, knocking him down. Havoc looked away as a burst of purple-tinged light shot forth from across the hall with a sizzle of energy. Alchemy, but were they on their side? When the light died down, a series of sharp spikes jutted out from the box in all directions. It had to be Armstrong's work. Jean paled. Breda could have been in there. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, Havoc took off running.

* * *

Somewhere along the way of running through the hallways and stairwells of the Conservatory, Havoc met up with Fuery and Falman on the third floor. All three officers ran in the same direction towards the source of their problems, the box for the interrupted ballet performance that night credited to one Marguerite Everard. And yet, as they got closer, they slowed down at the sight of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes sprawl on his rump and panting on the marble floor in front of the form of Second Lieutenan Heymans Breda, who was passed out and snoring. Major Armstrong loomed in the background, seeming idly restraining a man in a tuxedo who was thrashing and shouting wildly against the tall, muscular alchemist, attempting to break free.

There was only one thing missing from this happy picture. Well, four seeming related things Jean realized as he blinked, "Where's the Colonel and company?"

Maes frowned at him, "I was about to ask you the same thing. None of you saw him? Or the First Lieutenant? Or Major FullMetal? Or Miss Rockbell?"

Three heads shook at him, making the Lieutenant Colonel groan, "They must have broke the main plan and evacuated. We can get to the bottom of this though."

"Excuse me for being blunt, sir, but what the hell happened to him?" Falman asked, pointing towards the unconscious Breda on the ground.

"A woman it appears," Maes said with a highly amused grin.

"Lucky bastard . . ." Fuery muttered with a frown.

"Unlucky, I'd say," Havoc added with a sniff, digging for his pack of cigarettes in his tuxedo jacket, "Said woman could crack glass with her laugh alone. One of her goons must have punched his lights out before the shooting started. He looks fine, but probably will get a splitting headache the moment he wakes up."

"This was where we found him, so I'd assume you're not too far off," Maes said as he scratched the hair on his chin, contemplative, "Guess she liked him enough not to get him killed in the firefight accidentally, but . . ."

"Um, speaking of which . . . where is she? This Margie woman?"

"Margie who?" Falman and Fuery asked in unison, looking highly confused.

Maes shrugged, "Marguerite Everard, one of Roy's many conquests. She seems mixed up in this."

"Mixed up? I'm starting to think she caused this whole mess," Havoc said with a frown.

"We still don't know that. If we knew where she was, it would help."

"She's gone, you fucking assholes! Let me the hell go!" Armstrong's captive shouted, jumping again despite the Strong Arm alchemist's tight grip. The attention of all the officers turned towards the man, seeming to take him into consideration for the first time. "This would be one of her goons, I'd assume," Maes said as he got up off the floor stiffly, and walked closer, "You're not too bright are you?"

"Go to hell!" the man shouted back. Hughes' eyes narrowed behind the glasses, frowning deeply. Of course this always happened. Suspects always resisted questioning. Unfortunately, with Mustang and his party missing, every second counted and should be wasted on idiots like that guy obviously was. Maes glanced up at Alex, who nodded then brought down a large gauntlet-covered hand on the suspect's neck and shoulder. He cringed at the pain, only to seemingly cower more so as the alchemist's hand began to squeeze.

"Now that wasn't a very nice thing to say to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Armstrong scolded, sounding almost cheery in his lecturing, "You should apologize right away, and then answer his questions well, especially the one's pertaining to your association with Delmark Arms and Miss Everard. A beauty she may be, but is such a woman worth protecting in the face of such . . . overwhelming villainy?"

To accentuate his point, Alex's hand tightened to the point of nearly crushing the man's collar bone, making him shout in pain.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'm sorry!" He cried out as the hand let up slightly, "She told us to protect the box while she shot at the dark haired guy! She didn't want to kill him, just scare him in to running! She's got some other people I've never seen before stationed to capture him! I saw them milling outside the back of the building before I got here! I don't know where she left to, or where she's taking him! But she's gone! The bitch is gone, and I know nothing else!"

"So you don't know her base of operations?" Maes asked, his eyebrows knitting together at the revelation.

"I don't know! I only do security for Delmark! She ordered a few of us just to protect her and that pit bull of hers for tonight! She didn't tell us anything till her bodyguard knocked out that tubby guy, and then she started pulling out the rifle pieces from under her gown! She's crazy!"

"Shit . . ." Havoc cursed in the background, rubbing a hand down his face, "Where's the bodyguard? How many men did she have here?"

"He's dead," Armstrong and Hughes said in unison, frowning as they pointed towards the box's curtain before the Lieutenant Colonel added, "Two other dead guys in there too. We found this one cowering in the corner. Some security you are, buddy."

"It's a job! I ain't getting killed for that bitch! There's like two dozen of them that I saw anyway! What are you gonna do against that many?!"

"Damn . . ." Jean cursed again, groaning, "If there's that many waiting for the Colonel, he'd in trouble."

"What else do you know?" Alex asked, a heavy, intimidating tone to his voice that was decidedly uncharacteristic of the gregarious man. The would-be killer almost squeaked his answer, "I know nothing! I swear!"

"Alright, it's obvious this was just a distraction for us. The First Lieutenant was right after all it seems. We need to find the Colonel and the other teams, and track this woman down," Maes said as he turned back to the other officers, "Falman, take out lovely contestant here into custody, and wait for the police to show up. Explain the story without going into details. Fuery, get on the phone to my department. Brosch and Ross should be in tonight. I want them to dig up everything they can on Everard, addresses or real estate in her name specifically, also places her company owns, warehouses, storage yards, anything suspicious. I need it as fast as they can find it. Havoc, patrol around the outside. Look for anyone suspicious, any large trucks, or the Colonel and company, and take them out if you can. Armstrong, head down to the Colonel's box, and see if you can trail them. Knowing Mustang, just follow the flames."

"Sir!" the four officers snapped to attention, saluting him before running off with their new orders. Once they were gone, Hughes turned his attention back to Breda, frowning at the man's snoring. He had no idea how lucky he was right now just to be alive, even if he was incapacitated. The Second Lieutenant was also lucky that most of the details of this adventure were going to be cooked into oblivion before being presented in reports to the top brass. Dereliction of duty could have gotten him court-martialed if it ever came out. Yet then again, this whole case was spiraling out of control. Attempting to keep it under wraps could get them all kicked out of the military or locked down for a good long while . . . or it would have if Major General Mitchell wasn't preoccupied with his new secretary. Thank God for paperwork bureaucracy and lazy, oversexed Generals.

There was snort and grunt in the middle of Heymans's sleep followed by groaning, "Make it stop, mommy."

Maes smirked, "Rise and shine, sleeping ugly."

The face that had previously been pressed into the cold marble floor turned towards him, one eye cracked open slightly, "Huh? What the hell happened?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me?"

"Ugh . . . I think I was kissing a girl then saw nothing but black . . . must have been some kiss."

Hughes snorted in chuckles, "You were knocked out by her bodyguard I think. Smooth, very smooth, Breda."

The rotund man chuckled too then winced at the growing throb in his head, "Don't tell the Colonel? I don't think I'll ever live it down . . . Ugh, where is the Colonel? You look like hell. Did we get the assassin?"

"That's a long story . . . can you move?"

Slowly, Breda struggled to get up from the floor, stopping ever so often to rub the bump on his head, "I think I'm fine. Might not be too useful though . . ."

"You went over all the evacuation plans and the map of this place with Lieutenant Hawkeye, right?"

"Yes, sir, but I don't see how-."

"What's the quickest way from here to the outside?"

"The stairwell all the way at the end, then though the door under the stage to the backstage and out onto the back streets. It's quicker than heading to the lobby, or, if we were on the right, quicker than taking the loading docks. The First Lieutenant insisted on the stage loading dock in case of an emergency though. Havoc should have parked their car not far from there . . . Why do you ask, sir?"

Hughes frowned and walked back into the box to pick up the discarded sniper's rifle as well as a shotgun, throwing the latter into Breda's hand. He fumbled with the weapon, nearly dropping it before getting a good grip on the stock.

"They're walking into a trap. Come on, Second Lieutenant. If this woman knows everything I think she knows, the Colonel's going to need all the help he can get," Maes said as he walked down the hall towards the stairs mentioned previously before breaking into a run.

Heymans followed him, trying to run as well. This was perfect. First, he gets knocked out after getting the first taste of action in months. And now, here he was, running into more action but of a different variety, the type that made him gulp down on the hard lump in his throat between pants. He grumbled breathlessly to himself, "This night just keeps getting better and better."

* * *

After taking to the stairwells, the speed of the four people slowed down till they were almost crawling along walls in their descent. Riza wasn't taking any chances, watching every corner from her point position. The adrenaline in her system was still high after the encounter in the hallway, expecting similar people after them from every corner. The only thing that kept her calm enough to function well at that moment was Roy's hand on her back, the touch reassuring her that he was still there. Behind her, Edward was similarly paranoid as he stuck close to Winry at all times while walking precariously down the steps backwards and looking upwards for anyone chasing them.

The tension in the air seemed to seep into all of them, even the mechanic girl as she moved hesitantly with each step downwards. A chill ran down her spine at even the slightest sound, not having felt this sort of tension in a while. The last incident where she'd been dragged into Ed's military world was when they had both been captured by that killer Barry the Chopper. It wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd experience again, but this, this was much more nerve-wracking than being chained to a meat hook while watching Ed do battle. Why couldn't one of them have given her a weapon? Maybe not a gun, but why not something blunt and heavy that she could have thrown or swung at someone? Perhaps only then would she have felt not quite so much like useless baggage.

Riza stopped when they reached another landing, getting closer to the door that led into the theater's underground. The party trailing her stopped as well. Roy stood over her shoulder on the next step up, cautiously whispering in her ear, "What is it?"

The door below them was open, her eyes on it.

It was faint, but she was sure she had heard a shuffle of feet that wasn't theirs. Maybe it was her paranoia acting up again. Her foot rose up to take another step, but stopped in a heartbeat when a noise shattered the silence. Someone had coughed, and it wasn't any of the three people behind her. Roy moved past her on the stone stairs, fingers clicking. Orange-red plumes of flame filled the well and the door below them followed by the screams of men and shouting. "They're here! They're in the stairs! Move!" came from below them.

"Everyone back up!" Roy shouted as Ed had already turned, pulling Winry by the hand with him back up the steps. The two officers followed till the young alchemist stopped on the next landing. There were feet pounding down the stairs from above them. "Damnit! I knew it!" he shouted, letting go of the girl's hand to clap his together before touching the wall.

Blue-white light and crackles of energy filled the stairwell as Winry screamed from nearly being blinded. When it was over, the eldest Elric was already halfway through the new hole in the wall and beckoning the rest of them forward. None of them wasted any time in following as the shouts above and below became louder. As soon as they were all through, another clap came from the young alchemist as he crouched to touch the ground at his feet. The wall sprouted back in place, silencing the passage as well as plunging them into darkness when the light faded. "Brilliant, FullMetal. Now we're stuck," Roy complained, unable to see anything before him, "No one move."

"We're alive, aren't we? And it's better than you roasting us alive!" Ed yelled, scowling in the dark.

"Oh, yes. Like you two yelling at each other is helping a lot," Winry said, highly annoyed.

"Quit it, all of you. We need to find out where we are, and find another exit. The loading dock is now out of the question," Riza said as she tried to find a wall or something to orient herself with in the dark. With a small start, she bumped into something soft, grasping handfuls of fabric. "Riza! Hold on! You ok?" Roy yelled, sounding obviously concerned.

"I'm fine, Roy . . . a light would help though."

Fingers clicked in the dark, soft golden light springing to life. The flame held in the air just above Mustang's fingers, long enough for him to find a light switch on a wall. The soft light was replaced by harsh, bright bulbs over hear that illuminated a riot of colors around them. Somehow, they'd stumbled into one of the ballet's storage rooms and into the wardrobe department specifically. Riza clung to a rack full of red velvet costumes after stumbling into it, the rich material hanging around her yellow hair as she scowled, "Well, this is much better."

Roy helped her up, and pushed her ahead of him, "Come on, Lieutenant. This is no time to be playing with clothes."

Her mouth opened to argue with him, but snapped shut again as she marched forward. He could vaguely hear the grumbling in her wake, something along the lines of him not being worth the effort. The two teenagers filled in behind the two adults as they moved through the maze of racks and boxes, past props and screens while looking for a way out in silence again. "This place didn't look that big on the maps . . ." Ed wondered out loud, staring up at the arched vaults over their heads.

"Stay focused, FullMetal, at least till we're home," Roy muttered.

"You mapped the place you took me for a date? Why didn't you just station men in blue uniforms all over the building while you were at it?" Winry groused bitterly, the veins in her forehead popping in anger.

"Of course not, that would have been too obvious. They were all in tuxedos too," Ed said under his breath.

His date's anger exploded as she stopped walking to turn on him, "Oh that just makes it so much better!"

"Children, please save it for later?" Riza begged as she pushed past more dusty props before adding in a whisper to herself, "When I can properly punish the Colonel for this crazy plan too."

"I heard that, Lieutenant," Roy growled, about to continue on till he saw something along one of the walls, "Riza, do you remember what was outside of here on the map?"

The blonde in the black gown paused, thinking over his question before answering, "The storage should lead to a hallway along which was the dance studios. At the end of hall was stairs down to the stage door or up to the backstage . . . why?"

"That's how we're getting out. We just have to find the door, and I think I see it. This way," Roy said as he moved past her. They wove through more crates till the Colonel stopped in front of heavy set of metal doors. Testing the knobs, he quickly realized though that they were locked shut, "Damn . . . FullMetal?"

"Right, one locksmith, coming right up," Ed said as he clapped his hands together before touching the door. The steel dissolved away onto the ground in the light, the doorway cleared when their sight returned to normal. Stepping into the new hallway, the young alchemist stopped suddenly, seeing something in the dark. As the others started to come through behind him, Ed turned and barreled into Riza, who in turn was pushed back into Roy, who almost fell onto Winry. "Back! Get back!" he shouted in warning before the sound of gunfire filled the air over their heads.

All four collapsed in a pile over a set of now cracked crates, bullets passing above them. Disoriented, Hawkeye could hear shouting in the distance along with running footsteps, "They're here! Storage! Contain them!"

Crouching behind one of the wooden boxes, the Lieutenant fired into the darkness around the door. There was a scream of pain and an immediate return of gunfire as the others hit the floor as well. "You just gave away our position!" Roy yelled at her.

"What am I suppose to do?! Not fire back?!" Riza shouted, squeezing off another bullet in the dark which was followed with soft thud, "That's two . . ."

"Call for reinforcements!"

"Shit," all three officers cursed as Mustang turned to Ed, "Any ideas, pipsqueak?"

"Why me?!"

"Because you got us in here, idiot, now get us out!" Winry yelled at him, glaring from her spot behind a crate.

"How was I supposed to know they were following Colonel Bastard this much?!" he shouted, nearly standing up when more bullets passed over their heads and into the wooden crates. Winry yelped at the noise and Riza ducked again. The two women glared collectively at the men, the fury in their eyes speaking much on what they wanted. Edward grabbed mechanic, drawing her into his lap before yelling over the gunfire, "Everyone hold on to something!"

His hands clapped together and touched the stone floor under them.

Blue-white light arched upwards around them in a circle with a loud spark. Riza's gunfire stopped as Roy pulled her close, shielding her as a series of booms echoed around them through the stone. The floor dropped suddenly with a jarring pitch, falling straight down and taking them with it. Their shouts were lost in the sound of the crash on the floor below. A cloud of dust floated upwards in the aftermath, making them cough as if the disorientation from the impact wasn't bad enough. Despite not knowing where they were or where they were going, Roy pulled the Lieutenant with him as he staggered off the floor's remains. He sounded choked on the dust, almost croaking when he spoke, "We need, to move, go, FullMetal."

"Couldn't, agree, more," he coughed every other word, wobbling to his feet while yanking Winry with him. They'd been plunged into darkness again, only a shaft of light spiraling downward from above illuminated anything around them. Feet pounded above them as soon as they were enfolded in the inky blackness, coming closer to when the stone floor had fallen away. Ed hugged the blonde tight when she tried to run at the approaching sound, clamping a hand over her mouth to keep her from coughing, "Don't move or speak."

Roy and Riza held their breaths as well, peering up into the light and waiting for their enemy's approach. Shadowed figures peered over the edge of the hole, looking down. The Flame Alchemist's fingers snapped, fire shooting upwards as horrified screams cried out over their heads. None of them stayed see the aftermath of the fireball, running through what was an underground passage. There seemed to be nothing but darkness ahead of them till the barren hallway gave way to a few dim gas lamps overhead. From then on, it seemed that there was nothing but one narrow, exceedingly long way ahead of them. "I'm having bad flashbacks," Ed muttered as they got further away from the scene, "We're not lost, are we?"

"This passage connects the loading dock to the freight elevator by the stage door. We're heading towards the dock," Riza said, moving back to take the lead, "I don't like this."

"They could have abandoned the docks now after I firebombed the stairs," Roy added, his hand on her back again.

"I still don't like it."

"Flashbacks of what, Ed? Being lost?" Winry asked, her gown hiked up almost to her knees as she ran.

"Don't ask," Colonel Mustang and the pint-sized Major muttered in unison. The young woman huffed, shutting up as the passage turned another corner. After a moment, she complained bitterly, "Why do I even bother anymore? Getting answers out of you is harder than making you sit still long enough to fix your automail. I can't believe I let you talk me into this visit."

Ed grumbled but didn't reply to her ranting, frowning more with each step while glaring daggers at Roy's back. When this was all over, that bastard was going to pay for single-handed ruining his relationship with Winry, or so help him he'd . . .. Well, he wasn't too sure what he'd do, but he was certainly going to make sure pain and humiliation was involved.

Soon enough, the hallway stopped at another closed door, causing a collective, exhausted groan from all of them. "I'll get it . . ." Ed said sullenly as he tried to get past Roy to the door.

Riza beat him to it, firing a shot through the doorknob that startled the others to jump. She then kicked the door wide open. The Colonel grinned, "That's my girl."

Ignoring the comment, the Lieutenant marched right on through while they fell back into line behind her. The light was as dim as where they're just emerged from, each watching the expansive area for any movement. It was empty and cold, winter wind blowing through the large open door before them. There was nothing but snow outside as well as the night. "It looks clear . . ." Winry said softly, somewhat relieved as they kept walking.

"Don't say that. You could jinx us," Roy muttered under his breath, brow furrowing.

Riza resisted rolling her eyes, "I didn't know you were that superstitious, sir. I would have brought a few lucky rabbit's feet."

"Or maybe a four-leaf clover," Ed snickered, still looking out for danger.

Mustang bristled in anger, "Just yuck it up now. When this is over, you'll both be-."

The gas lights abruptly died, the overhead door slammed shut, and the sound of metallic clicks in the air stopped the words from his mouth, replacing it with a curse, "Shit."

In the darkness, the shouting started all around them, "Drop your weapon! Put up your hands!"

Ed could barely see in front of him except for the brilliant purple of his love's gown and her pale hair. Suddenly that spot of color was yanked sharply to his right and surrounded by black. He screamed and tried to lunge forward, "Winry!"

She screamed as well, struggling in the hold on her wrists with all her strength. And yet, her fight was reduced to a whimper when a click sounded by her head, the barrel of a gun pressed to her temple. Lights flooded back on, brighter than before. The overhead door rumbled open to reveal the back end of a large truck parked in the bay. About a dozen men surrounded them, each armed with rifles and masked in black. Ed's heart slammed in his chest at the sight, his worst nightmare given to reality. They might have well just put the gun to his head as well, not that it made a difference. The man holding her shouted, "Don't move, punk, or I'll shoot!"

"Winry!"

"Do as they say, FullMetal!" Roy shouted, sighing in resignation as he put his hands up, "They got us . . ."

"Sir . . ."

"Put your gun down, Riza . . ."

"But-."

"Do it."

"Do it, bitch, or we'll blow her head off!"

Ed snarled in fury, but the Lieutenant's clip popped free of the gun and clattered on the floor, followed by the pistol itself. It wasn't supposed to end like this. And yet, how it ended the young alchemist wouldn't know as something struck the back of his head hard, knocking him out cold. He collapsed to the floor as Winry screamed, tears running down her face as she tried to fight. Roy was struck on the head as well, dropping like a rock with groan. "Colonel! Roy!" Riza shouted as well, turning to rush towards him till one of their attackers' snagged her wrist and snapped her back.

Hawkeye shouted and fought as the men struggled to hold her back. They cursed and shouted at her biting and kicking till one of them hit her with a punch to the gut. The air was knocked from the First Lieutenant's lungs as she doubled over in pain, going limp. Whoever held her pinned her arms to her back and started binding her wrists together with rope while she was still weak. Winry didn't fight back as they tied her hands to the front, watching numbly as they also bound the two alchemists. It wasn't supposed to end up like this, captured, their fates unknown. The bleakness was clear on Riza's face, hanging her head to keep from showing the tears leaking from her eyes.

A leader emerged from their attackers in the form of the man holding the mechanic still, shouting over her head, "Get them all in the truck, and quick."

"Sir, instructions were only for the male, the dark-haired one."

"Instructions changed an hour ago. She wants the blonde too."

"Which one?"

"The bitch who bit Alfred."

"What about the twerps, sir?"

"Insurance policies. No one will miss them I think."

Winry's ire rose at the man's harsh words, tempted to tell him that Ed would be highly missed by the State being the FullMetal Alchemist and all. Yet, wisely, her jaw snapped shut and clenched in anger. They didn't need to know who they were messing with while they were still alive. Even with the pain slamming through her heart at the sight of Edward on the ground, there was still hope. He was alive, not dead. They both were, even if they were being carted away. He was brilliant. He'd find a way to save them all right? Winry looked over at Riza, who was tugged back to her feet and towards the truck waiting for them. The two women didn't say anything, but the shared look said enough. It wasn't over yet.

* * *

It was silent in the dead of the winter night but not quite that dark as the snow reflected the moonlight. Beyond the panicked crowd of audience members and performers milling outside the Conservatory for the Arts of Central City, waiting for the military and local police to show up, a non-descript white truck stood in the dock at the back of the building flanked by three cars. The sight struck Jean as mighty odd for this time of night, and seeing men dressed in black wasn't comforting either. He was positive those were the bunch of goons they were looking for, peeking at the activity from his spot at the corner of the building.

For a moment, he thought about being a hero, charging over there, and shooting as many as he could till he realized that he was vastly out numbered at the amount of men spilling out of the loading dock. Two dozen of them, just like their chicken suspect turned witness had said. Moments later, the truck's engine roared to life along with the cars. The men were piling into the vehicles. They were leaving. Havoc pressed back against a shallow alcove in stonework as they rumbled up the street and away from him. All four vehicles were gone, save for the tracks in the snow covered streets.

Turning back to the now empty street, he saw the side door open. Out came Hughes and Breda, both looking at him curiously as he shouted, "They're gone! There were three cars! One truck! Gone!"

"Damnit!" Maes cursed, knocking on the metal railing in front of him as the snow flew up into the air. He walked down the stairs onto the sidewalk with Heymans trailing behind them, meeting Havoc at the open loading dock. He didn't look happy, still looked hopeful, "Are they still inside maybe?"

At that moment, Armstrong appeared on the edge of the bay, clutching two items, "I'd say our dear, lovely Lieutenant Hawkeye at least is gone from here."

The alchemist held up her pistol in one hand and the matching clip in the other. All four men paled slightly. "She pulled out the bullets. We all know Riza isn't the type of woman to casually do that," Maes said softly.

"They're captured . . ." Havoc said, "We need a car."

"And I need a phone, plus backup."

"But we don't know where they're going," Breda said as Jean walked into the street, following him. Hughes went in the opposite direction around towards the front of the Conservatory with Armstrong following him after jumping down from the dock. As the two groups of officers parted ways, he realized that knowledge of the location the Colonel was being taken to either wasn't as important as he thought or they already had a plan. He frowned, betting even money in his head on the latter. He'd better be right. Mustang's life was sort of in the balance now, but then again, when was it not?

Heymans frowned, trudging through the snow, "You and Hughes do have a plan right?"

Havoc grinned, "Naw, we're just sort of winging the whole thing."

Somehow, he didn't believe that entirely either.

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 14, Dirty Pretty Things. 


	14. Dirty Pretty Things

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 14 – Dirty Pretty Things

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: I'm begging you, dear readers, for the enjoying of everyone else reading this fic eventually, don't spoil it by giving away the plot twists about to drop from here on out to the end of the climax (heh). Given the build up to this point, it would be a disservice to your fellow readers.

Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Another bump jostled the trunk, but it didn't seem to affect the two blond women sitting catty-cornered from each other on plank benches. Ed's unconscious form had long since slumped over till his head rested on Riza's shoulder, his mouth hanging open. Her brown eyes looked up to see Roy across from her, leaning on the truck's door, and her eyebrows knitted together in worry. At least he hadn't fallen all over the mechanic sitting next to him while being knocked out cold. The Lieutenant looked over at the girl, her wrists bound and resting in her lap with her blue eyes glued to the shackles. She looked defeated, but then again, all of them had been defeated. It made her bristle in anger. How had everything gone so wrong? They were usually smarter than this. "Where do you think they're taking us?" Winry asked, her voice almost non-existent.

"I don't know . . . it sounded like they only wanted Roy and me . . ."

"What will happen to Ed and me?"

"They'll probably put you in holding somewhere. Maybe they'll ransom you back to the military or turn you loose later . . ." Riza's voice trailed back as her eyes lingered over Mustang till she sighed, "How could I be so stupid?"

"What do you mean?"

"This whole thing is my fault. I was sure that it was Edward they were after. When the clues started dropping into my lap, I couldn't put them together fast enough, I . . . I didn't even try to make Roy believe me . . . I am so sorry, Winry . . ."

"Don't apologize to me. I don't need it from you," the girl's hands clenched as she glared over at Ed, "It's him that owes me the most. Why did he lie to me? Did he not trust me enough to not go hysterical? I'm not the type of girl to go silly with fear that easily, I . . . the only thing I really fear is losing him."

"We thought it was for the best," muttered a hoarse voice beside her. Roy's eyes squinted shut at the pain still throbbing through his head. Did they really have to hit him that hard? His hand jerked upwards to try and rub the sore spot till he felt the ropes constrict around his wrists, "Shit . . . My hands are cold."

He frowned at Riza, taking in her furrowed brow when his eyes finally focused, "They took my gloves."

"They took my guns."

Mustang's mouth dropped open, remembering where some of those guns were hidden, "All of them?!"

"Roy . . ." the blonde's voice strained, barely holding back her annoyance with him, "This isn't the time for that . . ."

Winry ignored the adults while their conversation passed her by. If she had to rely on those two for rescue, maybe things were a lot worse than she assumed. Oh right, like Ed could do any better in the rescuer department since he was all tied up too, hands behind his back like the Colonel and the Lieutenant. Besides, she was still too angry with the young alchemist to even think of letting him save her. Roy's admission didn't help her thoughts towards him any. "So, it wasn't just Ed then that thought I couldn't handle the truth?" Winry asked suddenly, breaking into their talk.

"It wasn't like that-," the dark-haired man next to her started to say, but his denials were cut off by an irritated groan of pain across from the girl, "Oh shut, Colonel Bastard. You're too loud."

The mechanic's face darkened as she watched Edward bury his face in Riza's arm, almost snuggling the Lieutenant, "Someone make the shouting go away."

"No one's shouting, FullMetal," the blonde said as she tried to gently push him upwards. The trunk bounced over some divot in the road, and he popped back up into sitting properly, wincing horribly at the jostling, "Ow, ow, ow."

"Great, maybe they cracked his head finally," Roy muttered, ignoring the dark looks from both women as he continued, "Now that the Major's awake we can work on a way out of this."

Still frowning, Winry settled on glancing at the floor instead of being angry. His change in topic seemed to have the opposite effect on Riza as she glared at her superior. Everything that had happened at the ballet could have been handled differently if he'd just listened to her. They might not at even been there if he had trusted her gut reaction for once. And yet, Roy still acted like he was in control of the situation when he was most definitely not anymore. Something seemed to snap in her eyes when he finally looked at her, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice, "I don't think forming a plan is going to solve anything since all of us are tied up. It was your plan that got us into this mess in the first place."

A stunned looked closed his dark eyes, his mouth almost dropping open till Edward interrupted, "Yeah, and it was your idea to bring Winry into this too. I lied to her for you, asshole."

"Shut up, Ed," the girl in question said softly, "It doesn't matter to me anymore who did what."

"But it does matter! This isn't my fault even if I'm sorry! He made me bring you here! He made me lie to you! The bastard even ordered me into it!" he yelled before turning on Roy, almost flying off the narrow bench he was cuffed to, "This is all your fault! I told you I didn't want her here!"

Riza's brown eyes close painfully at the appalled shock on Winry's face that slowly turned into hurt. She was certain that Ed didn't mean it like that at all, but the damage was done. The Lieutenant opened her mouth to voice her part in the disaster when the girl shouted in the boy's face, "Don't talk about me like I'm not here because I am here, whether you wanted me or not!"

The color drained from the young alchemist's face, "Winry . . ."

"Don't Winry me, Ed! He may have ordered you to lie to me, but you went with it and lied to me so easily!" the automail mechanic screeched, her bound hands visibly shaking, "What else has your lying mouth sprouted off to me about that you didn't mean?! Was everything else you told me a lie too?! If you didn't want me here, you certainly could have done something like you always do! You always do get your way, you spoiled brat! . . . Especially from me . . ."

The flinch that flashed across Ed's face looked like a harder and deeper hit than if she had slapped him. Riza's heart sank for the two of them and from her own guilt. This was more her fault than anyone else's. If she hadn't thought Winry's presence would cheer him up without Al around, if she had know how deeply Ed cared for the girl, if she hadn't mentioned her name to the Colonel, if she hadn't been so distracted to be blind to the clues before her, none of this might have happened. She had all the best intentions in the world for the two teenagers, and yet it only seemed to make things turn out in the opposite direction. So much for good intentions . . . "It isn't like that . . ." Edward tried to say before his voice choked up completely, "I-."

"Stop it, both of you. We can all scream at each other later when we're not cuffed," Roy said, "Besides . . . Ed's right. This is my mess and no one else's."

"Oh, now he shoulders responsibility," Ed growled, covering up the grateful look with disdain, "Took you long enough."

"Shut up, Ed," Riza said lowly as he sighed in resignation, slumped against the truck's cold metal wall. She looked up at Mustang as everyone went silent, studying the expression on his face. If she was wallowing in guilt, he was drowning in it. While part of her felt vindicated at not being alone in misery, that same part also felt more miserable for her own responsibility. "I should have told you sooner about my suspicions, Roy," she said suddenly, "I shouldn't have suggested Miss Rockbell as Ed's date. I didn't know. My mistake, I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter, Miss Riza," Winry breathed out, her head lowered and eyes closed, "I'm sure you all did what you thought was best . . ."

"Winry-," Ed started again, looking anxious as his feet shuffled on the floor, "Please, just look at me?"

"Not now."

"But-."

"Give it a rest, FullMetal. She isn't going to listen, and the more you try, the more she won't care what you say," Roy grumbled, "Actions speak louder than words anyway. Right now it's up to you to get us out of here before the truck stops and we arrive at certain doom."

"It's you they want, sir, and me. They were talking about it before putting us in here," Riza said, nodding towards the door before pausing, "You're being very mature about this situation."

A smirk crossed his face, "Which situation, taking the blame or being captured?"

"The former, sir. I still blame you for not listening to me earlier about Margie."

"Margie? Who's Margie?" Winry asked, blinking.

"Oh, not this again . . ." Roy groaned. His eyes rolled and Riza's anger snapped. All this and he was still in denial?! She bucked at the handcuffs that pinned her wrists to her back despite the cold and pain, "Yes, this again. You should have listened to me and called this fiasco off when we had the chance."

"She's one of Colonel Bastard's ex-girlfriends," Ed snickered, "He does know how to pick them."

The mechanic's blue eyes rolled upwards, "Wonderful. Anything else you'd like to confess before we die?"

"I love you," Ed said in reflex honesty before quickly catching himself and sputtering as his face went red, "In that dress, that is."

"We're not going to die, at least not that easily. And you two are being locked into your rooms when we get home! You're both too young to be talking like that!" Roy yelled at the teenagers before turning back to Riza, ignoring the smug look on her face, "And if I had called off the operation, then what? What other shot would we get? You seem to know it all now so you tell me."

"Yes, getting captured has cracked this case wide open now."

Sarcasm dripped off of her tone, making his brow furrow in annoyance, "Insubordination, Lieutenant."

"Can it, Roy," Riza muttered, "I'm cold, worried, and defenseless right now, but I'm not above being very, very annoyed with you."

"That makes the two of us, Darling."

"Don't call me that. It only makes me more annoyed with you . . . Sir."

Roy bristled at the name, sorely tempted to start another verbal spar when the truck came to a halt. Somewhere in the petty fighting, blaming, and talk of escape, the reality hadn't set in that they were indeed taken hostage. That reality suddenly seemed as close at hand as the squealing protest of brakes. A knot of nervousness dropped in Mustang's stomach yet he didn't let it show to the others. There was no use in panicking over what their fate might be if they didn't mount an escape soon. If Riza was right, if it was only the two of them that their capturers wanted, then there was still hope. Right? They were being kept alive for some reason.

The door to the back of the truck swung up. With it came a blast of cold wind and the clicking of guns at the ready. Panic tightened in his throat at the sight of at least a dozen men assembled, the other dozen milling nearby no doubt. They were all masked in black hoods, but Roy could still see the sneer of their uncovered mouths and the glances towards Winry and his Lieutenant in particular. He never should have let her wear such a revealing gown. Her legs were about as uncovered as they could get, stockings, garter holsters all exposed for roving eyes. Mustang's dark eyes hardened, jealousy and protectiveness taking over his mind. He knew exactly what their assailants must have been thinking. He'd thought the same thing over and over again that whole night watching her in that dress, but that was his privilege damnit!

One of the men that leered openly at Riza slung his shotgun over a shoulder and produced a cloth bag from his back pocket before crawling into the back of the truck. If by accident or intention, the back of the man's hand grazed the blonde's calf as he reached for her, making her flinch away from him. The Colonel's fury exploded in a low growl, "You are going to die, in a fire."

From the raucous laughter, his threat had all the strength of a wet noodle. The man across from him snickered, stroking Riza's leg deliberately this time, "You're not so tough without those special gloves of yours. I think I'm beginning to like this pretty too. Maybe she'll learn to like me too once I get to know her better. What are you gonna do about it?"

Roy's eyes darted up to see the peeved expression clear on the Lieutenant's face, and he smirked, "I'm not the one you should be worrying about . . ."

Riza abruptly yanked her leg away and the man's hand slipped to the truck floor. Her shoe slammed down onto the back of his palm, making him scream in pain. Lunging to grab her, Riza jabbed her shoulder into his face with a resounding crack. Then, her foot twisted, crushing bone with a sickening crunch. The man reeled backwards, blood spraying from his nose and over his mouth as he shouted, "Bitch!"

He backhanded the blonde across the face with his uninjured hand in a slap that sent her sprawling against the back of the truck. Roy sprung us with a yell only to be yanked backwards by the cuffs tethering him to the bench. To add injury to insult, someone else slammed the barrel of a shotgun into the side of his face in the chaos. Pain bloomed throughout his head, turning his vision black. He nearly passed out again, Winry's scream into his ear as he almost fell on top of her waking him back up. "Stop fucking around and get them moving! Now!" someone shouted nearby, but Roy couldn't place the voice, "And shut her up!"

"Winry!" Ed yelled before Roy was sure he heard the sound of metal hitting skin. Then, he heard nothing. Winry's scream choked in a sob and came out as a whimper, "Ed? Edward? Please say something, Ed?!"

His eyes slowly creaked open to see two of the men grabbing Riza by the arms, concern written all over her face before her head was covered by a bag and she was yanked from her seat. Fullmetal slumped over but he could barely see why as Winry rushed forward, frantically trying to push the boy back up. Seconds later, a bag went over Roy's head before he was yanked up to his feet. Disoriented and blind, he stumbled and fell, landing on snow-covered ground. Great, now he was not only cold but wet too. "This night just gets better doesn't it?" Mustang groused before someone pulled him back up.

Roy stood there, expecting to be shoved when he felt a gun barrel prod his back, "Move."

It was such a simple request, yet it was also one he dreaded doing. They could be walking into anywhere, hell itself for all he knew, and that fear stopped his feet to where he stood. The gun jabbed him more insistently, and Mustang took an unsteady step forward. Move he would, whether he wanted to or not. Ignoring all the aches, pain, and cold stiffness in his bones, he walked.

* * *

"Only those three? You sure, Ross? . . . I know you don't know for sure, but there isn't time to dig deeper. They're being moved as we speak," Maes said into the phone, rubbing his forehead, "Your best guesses, huh? Ok, fine. Bosch is on the switchboard there? Fuery's stationed here, stay in contact. I'll call in once I have something, have backup standing by . . . I know it's close to midwinter, and I know we're stretched already with this fiasco! Just do it, Ross! . . . I know. I'm worried too, but I know we'll find them. I'm almost sure of it."

No, that was a lie to Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. Hughes wasn't so sure of anything anymore. Roy was really in trouble this time, dragging Riza, Edward, and Miss Rockbell into danger along with him. But, he wasn't about to let the others know how worried he really was. After a brief good-bye, the Lieutenant Colonel handed the telephone back to Kain before exchanging salutes and walking across the Conservatory lobby towards the doors. Breda stood in the doorway, coat in one hand with maps and a small radio in the other. "Havoc has the car around back. You don't want to head this way," the red-haired man said as he handed over the coat, "Falman's too busy talking with the military cops. If they see you, their questions might get more pointed."

Taking the hint, he turned on heel and headed deeper into the theater, "Why do I have a feeling we're all going to get court-martialed or put in the brig even if we do save the Colonel and the Major? I'll never see my little baby again."

Heymans opened his mouth to answer that question until Maes cut him off by shoving a small notepad in his hands, "Three addresses, for now at least. Do you remember which way Jean said the truck went?"

"East . . ." he trailed off while looking down at the writing, "Two of these addresses are in that direction, but I don't think we'll be able to follow the tire tracks to know."

"Why not?"

"It's snowing again, sir. They'll be covered up in an hour for sure at the rate it's falling."

"Wonderful, even Mother Nature hates the Colonel . . ." Hughes grumbled, "We don't have enough people to split up, and one radio alone was hard enough to get a hold of. We'll just have to try."

"They could be at any of the three locations. Their attackers could turn down any street from here to Edgewater Road, maybe. They could even dump the truck and cars, and move them on foot, and we wouldn't know . . . It's what I would do."

"Thank you, Breda," he mumbled as they reached one of the doorways to the cold outside, stopping to slip his coat on, "I don't suppose there's good news in anything else you have to say?"

"Kain mentioned that he contacted Alphonse Elric and told him of the situation. The kid's already on his way over to Headquarters."

"And that's good news?"

Heymans shrugged, pushing the door open, "It's more help in finding them, and right now we can use all the help we can get right? Besides, if he's alive, that means his brother is alive too, so . . ."

The Lieutenant Colonel followed him outside and down the steps before walking across the street towards the waiting car with Jean in the driver's seat and Major Armstrong in the back. Breda had a point no matter how much Maes wanted to deny it. He didn't know much about alchemy, but he understood the brothers' story of the blood seal that bought the younger Elric to his armored body. If anything fatal happened to the elder, Alphonse would be the first to know, one way or another. He frowned, shoving the thought as far out of his head as he could.

Help was an important commodity to them at that moment too, and so was time.

His hand fumbled around in one of his pant's pockets till he grasped a metal watch. Hughes pulled it out, flipping back the plain silver lid to look at the clock. Barely half an hour had passed since they knew the Colonel and company had been taken. Anything could have happened in that amount of time. He closed the pocket watch and put it away. No sense in wasting any more time.

* * *

Everything felt numb from his head down to his toes and everywhere in between, and cold. He felt cold. Even his metal foot wanted to shiver from the cold. The only part of his that felt any warmth was the side of his face. Something very warm and very soft was pillowed under his cheek, that much Edward was sure of. It felt good enough that he wanted to go back to sleeping, sure that when he did wake up the pleasant feeling would disappear. The blond boy laid there as still as stone, stuck persistently between sleep and a fitful wakefulness. Maybe if he stayed asleep the nightmare of an evening he had dreamed would pass too, and he would wake up beside Winry again. It was a nice way to start his day anyway, feeling her fingers pulling at his unruly hair and on his skin, trying to get him to open his eyes.

For a moment, Edward was sure he was dreaming awake when he felt a pair of nails dig slightly into his scalp, a thumb brushing his hair. He woke up with at start, and the hand stopped. The only thing he could see was violet, vivid violet with spots of lavender and black. It was Wriny's gown. "Ed?" he heard her voice from over his shoulder.

The young alchemist's mind finally kicked into gear when he tried to roll over, the back of his skull hitting something soft yet unyielding. He was lying down somewhere with his head in Winry's lap. "This isn't so bad . . ." he mused out loud.

When he tried to move his arms, he realized that they were still cuffed behind his back, "But I could be wrong . . ."

He heard the girl sigh, sounding both relieved and vexed at the same time as her hand touched the side of his face, "You idiot."

As soon as her fingers brushed his skin, Ed winced, hissing in pain, "Ouch. Don't do that. Please?"

Her hand jerked away, "Sorry, just you have this ugly bruise from where they hit you."

"Huh?"

"You don't remember?" Winry asked as she bent over him, her blue eyes worried. Ed squinted his eyes shut and turned away, burying his face in her lap. Those idiots in black struck him again when then threatened the girl. He must have blacked out again. Some hero he was. "I remember. I just don't want to remember," the alchemist muttered into her skirts, voice muffled, "I just wanna go back to sleep . . ."

The mechanic girl sighed again, this time more aggravated as she shoved his noggin off her lap, "Big baby."

More forceful in her pushing than she thought, Ed's body followed the rolling of his head to crash onto the concrete floor. He yelped in pain, landing on his side and turning over again till he was staring straight up, "Owwwww."

With a rustle of silk satin, Winry stood over him, a much more pleasant sight that the murky grey ceiling, "Sorry . . ."

If he wasn't tired, if he wasn't drained, chained, and thoroughly depressed at the entire situation, he might have been tempted to not forgive her. But looking up into those big, sky blue eyes of hers, which were so full of concern over him, any will to fight the normally tempestuous teenager had left evaporated. "It's ok . . ." he started to say sullenly before forcing a lop-sided grin on his face, "I'm fine."

And yet, he winced at the stab of pain through his skull, a killer headache coming on, "At least, I think I'm fine."

Winry knelt down and grabbed Ed by the shoulders, helping him sit up with a strong tug. Disoriented, he nearly fell backwards again from the splitting in his head till she caught him against her. After a moment of blinking, he finally cracked his amber eyes open to look around. The first thing he noticed was the metal bars across from where they sat on the floor and a corridor beyond it, followed by the steel and wood plank benches hanging on chains along the walls. It was a cell. "They brought us here not too long ago, maybe ten minutes. I had a bag over my head so I couldn't see where they took the Colonel and the Lieutenant, but I know they separated us as soon as we came inside," Winry explained as she backed off now that he was sitting on his own, moving to retake her perch on the bench behind him, "They shoved me in here and almost threw you in here on top of me . . . I haven't seen anyone since."

Ed exhaled, partially in relief, "Did any of them touch you?"

"No, just bolted the bars and left," she said before her mouth quirked into a smirk, sniffing in distaste, "Apparently they don't think I'm that dangerous."

The young alchemist chuckled, almost sounding bitter, "They're underestimating your capacity for dealing out punishment."

Her pointed shoe kicked Ed swiftly in the back, making him jump to attention, "Cut it out will you?! I'm in enough pain with this headache! I don't need you adding to it!"

"A headache?! Is that all I am to you?!" the mechanic yelled, kicking him again but more forcefully, "I am not done being mad at you for ruining my first date ever! Or for lying to me! Don't you dare think I've forgotten about that!"

He turned, kneeling on the cold floor to stare at her, "I said I was sorry!"

"That isn't good enough!"

"Then what is?! This isn't my fault! It's all Colonel Bastard's fault!"

"But he wasn't the one sleeping in my bed telling me everything would be ok! And now that everything is not ok, you still can't honestly say you're sorry! Why can't you take some of the blame yourself?!" she shouted in Ed's face, her foot already poised for another kick that would have struck him in the stomach if he hadn't moved out of her range. Winry's frustration only grew, and for a moment, the young alchemist was sure that she would launch herself off the bench and deck him, putting him out of his misery, but she didn't. Instead, the girl screamed, stamping a foot on the ground before she flung herself back against the wall. Ed stared at her in disbelief, sure that at any moment her anger would reignite, but it didn't. She just sagged and folded her arms over her chest, unmoving and pointedly ignoring his existence.

Edward slumped, and finally took a good look at her. The roses he'd made for her were utterly destroyed, a few petals caught in the tangles of her hair, which had fallen lop-sided to hang around her right ear. Her makeup was ruined, smudged and wiped away till the only part left was the dark lines under her eyes. The priceless collar that she had worn earlier was gone, probably stolen, along with the bracelet she wore. Her gloves were tattered around the wrist from where she had been cuffed. The gown that he had paid for was shredded all over the skirt along with the crinoline and organza petticoats underneath, ruined. And yet, Winry was still pretty, beautiful, despite the imperfections and the scowl across her face. Slowly, the petulance in her features dissolved into misery, tears spilling down her cheeks. She curled up on the bench, hugging her knees and burying her face in the fine fabric to muffle the sound.

Watching her cry only made him feel more like a failure.

He slowly sunk back down to sit on his heels. His heart felt like it had fallen out of his chest and been stomped on, each sniffle bring another small stab of pain far worse than his headache. Ed twisted on the ground, unable to face the girl or her tears anymore. He couldn't even face the thoughts worming their way through the throbbing in his head. No matter his good intentions, or how smart he thought he was, he still couldn't figure out what to say to please her. Maybe it was sheer arrogance that thought he could ever make Winry happy. He couldn't fix anything after all, not his body, not even his brother. What ever made him thing that he could fix his life well enough to be with the girl?

He couldn't even keep his word to Pinako not to make her cry again. Leaning back on the bench, the alchemist hung his head, "I told you I didn't deserve you . . ."

Winry sniffled, loudly, and then snorted, bitterly, not bothering to raise her face to look at him. She must have been listening as he heard her crying stop but no reply came from her lips. Ed took the chance while he still had it, "I don't deserve you at all, or your forgiveness. You don't even have to like me anymore if we get out of here, but . . . I just wanted you to know it was worth it to see you in that dress."

The cuff on the back of his head was swift and more playful than painful even if he cringed all the same. She giggled at his yelp, her voice still muffled, "Pervert. That wasn't an apology."

Still wincing, Ed grinned slightly and turned to look up at her, "I know it isn't, but it's the best I got. I'd tell you anything you wanted to hear if I thought it would make things better."

Her blue eyes peeked at him from over her knees, fallen as she muttered, "So you would lie to me again."

"That isn't what I meant. What I mean is . . . Damnit, what do I mean?!" he cursed, kicking at the floor suddenly, "Why do you have to be so hard to talk to?"

Winry started to glare at him, but stopped as he thumped his head on the bench, "That isn't what I meant either. What I mean is why can't I tell you what I mean without getting all confused at what I do mean . . . or hurting you, unintentionally?"

The mechanic's eyes widened, listening intently despite the growl and aggravated grunts that came from the blond boy's mouth. "I . . . I never mean to hurt you," Ed said suddenly, looking up at her then away again with a frown on his face, "And I don't want you to get hurt over me either. But I must be a fool for thinking I can, or just stupid. I never claimed I was a genius anyway, just a genius when it came to alchemy, which is really useless to either of us right now with my arms cuffed. I guess I am a bit of a smartass though."

She laughed, wishing the sound would have just died in her throat instead so that her voice didn't choke up, "That's the brightest thing you've said all night."

Ed laughed too, though more bitterly. It would figure that the one thing she found funny would be him insulting himself. But, his pride didn't care, if it still existed. That part of him had gotten left behind somewhere in the course of the evening, and for once, he felt better off without it. The only things he had left was guilt, and Winry, even if he was certain the latter was slowly slipping away from him. Would she ever forgive him for lying to her and bring her into this mess? He seriously doubted it. He doubted he would even be able to forgive himself, eventually. If only she knew how much he blamed himself for already, maybe she would have understood. And yet, he wasn't about to tell her that either. Ed's frown deepened as his head tilted to the side, pressed against satin and her ankles. "I don't want to lose you . . ." he said softly.

But, part of his heart feared that he already had.

"You're an idiot," Winry whispered under her breath, harshly, and he snorted in derisive laughter. Yet, the humor stopped when her hand lay across the top of his head. Slowly, her fingers dug between the golden, messy strands. If he didn't feel so desperate for any form of comfort from her, he might have sworn that he was being petted. Closing his eyes, Ed buried his face against her feet, "I'm sorry. I really am sorry, I-."

"I know you are. It's ok," she cut him off, uncurling from the bench. Edward looked up, and she smiled down at him before bending over. Her lips touched the bruise on his face, making him flinch, but the jolt that went through him wasn't from the pain. It couldn't be that easy for her to forgive him . . . could it? When Winry pulled away, her face fell again, no longer comforting as she crossed her arms while leaning back against the wall, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and find a way to get us out of here."

A grin tugged up one side of his face, "It would be a lot easier if I could use my hands."

She giggled, "Pinning your hands does make you pretty useless, in a lot of ways too . . ."

"This isn't a time to be funny, Winry!" Ed yelled, rattling the shackles at his back in emphasis before groaning, "I can't even twist my wrists to touch the metal. Clapping is definitely out . . . How did you get out of your cuffs, anyway?"

"Oh, I just picked the lock."

"You just . . . What?!" he shouted, nearly hopping off the ground, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!? Why didn't take them off earlier?!"

The blonde clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. She was failing miserably as the scowl on Ed's face deepened. "This isn't funny, Winry," he scolded her, bristling in anger, "That bastard Mustang and the Lieutenant could be in trouble somewhere while you're still punishing me for a little lying."

Her laughter stopped abruptly, "And this isn't the time for you to be starting that argument again when you need my help, alchemy geek."

Damn, she did have a point. He slumped down again, "Sorry . . ."

Winry sighed, patting part of the bench beside her, "Get up here so I can see those cuffs."

Grumbling, the alchemist struggled to get up to his feet, nearly toppling over before he collapsed down next to the girl with a groan. His head still hurt as he winced, fighting down the groan of pain. Watching Ed trying to hide how much his injuries had affected him finally struck the mechanic girl with how serious their situation was. He had a point too, even if he had said it with all the tact of bull in a glass shop. Anything could be happening to the Colonel and Miss Hawkeye, and she had been more concerned over Ed's lies to her. If anything happened to them . . . Berating herself internally, Winry pulled two hairpins lose from her fallen locks, straightening the bends from one of them.

When she tugged on his wrists, he didn't complain, leaning against the wall for support. "I'm sorry . . ." the girl said under her breath, inserting the pins into one side of the cuffs, "We'll have plenty of time to yell at each other when we're out of here . . ."

"I don't want to fight anymore with you though," Ed admitted as he heard the metal scraping on metal, fidgeting slightly, "You have every reason to be pissed at me. Hell, I'm pissed at me too."

She giggled in spite of his words, moving the hairpins around, "Later, and stop squirming."

"I can't exactly help that. This isn't entirely comfortable for me," he groused, fidgeting just to annoy her, "Hurry up will you?"

Winry prodded him in the back with one of the pins as he yelped, "I can't go any faster if you keep doing that. This is a very delicate procedure to not only match the seven pins in the lock but to keep them open while turning it. One screw up and I have to start again. Tricky little sucker too. My cuffs were cheaper, only five pin so it was rather easy to finesse, and-."

"You're rambling, mechanical freak," Ed grinned at her from over his shoulder, turned slightly and holding as still as he could, "Do you have it yet."

"Almost, don't move . . ." her voice trailed off, holding her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration. If she could just turn the pins and the lock now it would open. But if he moved again, she was sure she'd lose it for the third time now. Winry held her breath, turning the hairpins gently. The lock clicked and the cuffs sprung open with a scrape of metal. Much too pleased with herself, the girl gave a cheer of victory while striking at heroic pose on the bench, "Told you."

Rubbing his sore, but now freed, wrist, Ed turned and was about to congratulate her when the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, "Shit . . ."

Quickly, he shoved his hands behind his back to hide them. Winry slid the pins back into her hair and grabbed a pair of cuffs left abandoned on the floor. She quickly placed the metal over her wrists, but didn't close them all the way. "I can't believe you know how to pick locks . . ." he muttered under his breath, watching the bars, "And you never told me you could. Anything else you want to tell me now?"

"I've known how to pick locks since I was eight. It's why Granny never bothered to lock me in my room when I was bad . . ." Winry admitted with a slight grin on her face.

He groaned, rolling his eyes upwards, "I only find out about your criminal tendencies now that we're in trouble, perfect."

Her elbow hit hard in the side, but he only grunted off the pain while grumbling to himself. And yet, no matter how much Winry wanted to be truly angry at him for the comment, she bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from bursting out in silly laughter instead. If only he knew what else she had done, like purposefully forgot a screw in his knee after the last checkup so he would come home sooner. Of course she planned to put it back when she got her hands on her proper tools, but that wasn't happening any time soon. Come to think of it, he probably didn't even know it was missing. "Um . . . Ed?" Winry asked hesitantly, "Don't try anything too fancy like sliding sideways on that knee of yours. It might stick."

His amber and gold eyes nearly popped out of his as he looked at her, "What!? It was fine this afternoon?!"

"Well, you asked if there was anything else I wanted to tell you. I thought you should know," the mechanic huffed, pointedly looking away from him, "Don't blame me if you're reckless with the automail I make for you."

"I'm sorry I asked . . ."

Her mouth opened to explain further then the footsteps from the hall got closer. A group of three men emerged from across the bars, rifles over their shoulders and dressed in black. The masks they had worn earlier were gone. The one of them in the lead jingled a set of keys distractingly as he reached the bars, "Isn't that cute, two lovebird behind bars."

The second man snickered, crossing his arms, "I'll take the girl. You both grab the kid since he's awake now. Don't want him getting too far while we have a little fun with her."

She shifted closer to Ed and stiffened, wishing she could disappear behind him. He growled, glaring the one who had threatened Winry until the third man knock his companion hard across the back, "Keep it in your pants, man. We're just gonna move the sweethearts somewhere else. The lady wanted to see them too when she's finished with that other pair."

"Whatever," he mumbled, "We're not getting paid enough to play babysitter after what went down tonight."

"Tell me about it, but I'm not about to piss of the broad footing our bills."

"Would you both shut up?"

The conversation stopped as the wheels in the alchemist's head turned fast. They were being moved again. If the guards found out that their cuffs were off, things would go very bad very quickly for them. Yet, this could be their chance to escape. But how? Suddenly, his amber eyes shot open, lit with an idea. "When I move, go for the door," he whispered under his breath, glancing over at Winry.

Did she have much of a choice, really? She looked at him skeptically a moment, then nodded.

The man slid the key into the lock, opening it with a rusty clink. As soon as the hinge of the cell door squeaked open, the young alchemist sprung up from the bench and brought his hands together in a clap. Blue-white light flooded the cell as he dropped down to touch the floor. The ground shook as the three men fumbled for their rifles, but it was too late. Multiple rock tendrils shot up from beneath his feet, shooting through the bars towards two of the soldiers. Just when it seemed that the rock would impale them, it split into arms, not only pinning them both to the wall but covering their mouths as well.

The guard who had opened the cell looked on in horror. Just as he opened his mouth to shout a warning, Winry charged the open door. The bars rammed against him hard with an audible crack as he went sprawling to the ground. The gun fell from his hands as he clutching his face, groaning in pain. Standing over him, the girl quickly moved the weapon out of the way, kicking him in the back for good measure as she panted while glaring at the men, "Serves you three right! Didn't your mothers teach you to respect women!?"

The two pinned to the wall murmured under their rock bindings, kicking helplessly at the air.

A sadistic grin spread across Ed's face as he looked at his handiwork then over at Winry's. Moving quickly, he grabbed the man by the ankles and dragged him into the cell. Seeing what he was doing, the mechanic girl ducked to help, lifting him up by the shoulders. Once they had the fallen guard in the middle of the cell, the alchemist took the pair of fallen cuffs and slapped them over the man's wrists till they locked. He then alchemized the second pair of restraints off his wrists and into a gag using part of the rock floor as well. Finished, he collapsed back on the floor, taking a long breath, "That should hold them a while."

After all the alchemy he had used that night, he felt drained. The livid bruise on his face didn't help him in feeling any better either. If only he could have just stayed there and rested. All he needed was a few minutes. And yet, Winry stood over him, looking down with concern. Damn those blue eyes of hers for reminding him that they weren't safe yet. Groaning, Ed pushed up from the floor and back to his feet, "We need to get moving."

"But we don't even know where we're going. How are we going to find Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye? And we're bound to run into more guards . . ." Winry shivered slightly, rubbing her arms, "You should have told me. Then at least I would have worn a more sensible gown to be kidnapped in."

Edward couldn't help but grin, "But I like that one on you."

She blushed, looking both embarrassed and furious at the same time despite her chattering teeth, "This isn't the time for you to be cute, Ed. I'm cold, miserable, and absolutely-."

"Hold on a moment," he said as he slipped his tuxedo jacket off, tossing it over her shoulders. Winry's growing tirade stopped short, leaving her blinking at him in surprise as she clutched the jacket closed over her chest. His hands rubbed the wool over her arms, trying to warm her up even if his automail hand only made her feel colder. At least, he was telling himself it was to get warm again. For some reason his hands slowed down the more she stared at him. And somewhere along those lines, he had also taken a step too many into her personal space, barely a foot away from being pressed against her. Yet, if Winry minded, her blinking blue eyes didn't tell him so.

Self consciousness set in though as Ed backed away, "Um, there. That should be better for you. Um, don't move."

As he turned away, Winry shook herself out of the small trance and slid her arms into his jacket. Given everything that happened that evening, maybe she had over-reacted just a little. Ed probably did mean well. And he really did mess up saying what he meant at times. If he ever managed to say something meaningful to her without mangling it in some way, she might have died of shock. What mattered most was that he cared for her, a lot. Wasn't that enough?

Another clap sounded and more blue-white light flooded the cell. Edward touched the metal bars, which seemed to dissolve in his hand then reform into a club with a U-shaped head. A pale eyebrow arched at him in curiosity, "Is that supposed to look like a wrench."

The alchemist laughed nervously, forcing a grin as he held the metal weapon out towards her, "Well, it's not your favorite one, I know, but it should be just as heavy. I'm not chancing something happening while we find a way out of here by leaving you defenseless."

A radiant smile beamed across Winry's face as she took the improvised wrench from Ed. Her heart felt like it would burst in pride. He was arming her the only way he knew how. He trusted her to take care of herself, that she was strong enough to do so, right? Well, at least that she was hoping he was thinking by giving her the weapon. Actions spoke louder than words after all. Experimenting with the weight, the mechanic girl twirled the wrench in her hands and swung it through the air, hitting one of the rock forms he had made earlier with a loud thud. He winced at the noise, but continued to grin to himself until she turned towards him, "It's perfect!"

Ed's mouth opened to comment when Winry launched herself at him, kissing him forcefully her arms wrapped over his neck. He staggered back a half step, nearly falling over. Ok, so usually he was much more nimble on his feet. Yet, concentrating on anything was hard with so much of the girl and her new blunt instrument in his arms, including his balance. Her lips didn't help, but that was the one part he absolutely couldn't complain about. Just when he thought he'd never get to kiss her again, here she was, pressed against him. The wrench dropped from her hands and slid down his back to fall on the floor with a loud clang, but Ed hardly noticed. His lips were still pursed when Winry pulled again, giggling softly, "I forgive you."

Both of his eyebrows shot up, "Really?"

The mechanic answered him with another kiss, quick and hard, before patting his automail shoulder and pushing away. Ed stood there stunned into silence as she grabbed the fallen wrench from the floor and hefted it across her shoulder. Helplessly his eyes followed her as she stared out of the cell and into the hallway, unable to prompt himself to do much else. She actually forgave him for lying to her, knowingly putting her in danger, nearly getting her killed, and ruining their first date . . . because he gave her a crummy wrench.

Ed tugged off the black bowtie still around his neck, and at the collar of his shirt to relieve some of the heat he still felt from the kiss. He made a mental note. Next time he had to say he was sorry to Winry, he would skip the flowers and chocolate and going right to the nearest tool shop.

Wait, where had she gone to?

"Hey! Wait up!" he yelled after her, moving quickly down the hallway after her, "You don't know where you're going!"

* * *

The snow was getting deep as the car nearly skidded again on the unplowed streets. Maes gripped the car seat tightly, trying not to look too scared at the man in the driver's seat. "Havoc . . ." he said through his chattering teeth, "There's a fine line between the need for speed and killing all of us for the sake of speed. I want to see my baby again, please?"

"It isn't my fault! These roads are starting to turn icy . . ." Jean muttered, turning the car down another empty street, "This is the second location right?"

"Yes, the last one is clear across town," Breda piped up from the back seat beside Major Armstrong, "So, if this isn't the one . . ."

"The Colonel will be fine," Alexander said cheerfully in spite of the dour looks on the rest of the officers in the vehicle. Even Hughes was beginning to doubt that everything would be ok. He reached for his pocket watch again, flipping it open to look at the time when he pulled it free from his back pocket. Fifteen minutes had passed since the last time he looked at it, and that was at the first location, ten minutes away from the ballet. Maes frowned, closing the watch again, "When we find him that is . . ."

He twisted in the seat to put the watch away, looking out the window before freezing. Maybe it was luck looking out for them, or the Colonel specifically, but if he hadn't looked then, they might never have seen it. A large white truck was parked down one of the side alleys, almost entirely out of sight from the street. It was so well hidden they almost missed it.

"Stop the car!" Hughes shouted, almost flying out of his seat, "White truck! Stop! Pull over! Now!"

Havoc jammed the brakes, and the back wheels skidded sideways on the snow, spinning almost out control. He turned the wheel sharply, and the slide stopped with a loud squeal of metal they spun about completely. The car rocked back and forth before coming to a halt facing the alley. None of the men made a noise, staring in disbelief at Jean as he grinned manically, "Always wanted to do that trick . . ."

"Next time, do it without us in the car," Heymans said shakily. Maes was about to agree with the Second Lieutenant's opinion when he remembered why they stopped in the first place. He yanked open his side door, and ran out into the snow. "Lieutenant Colonel!" Armstrong shouted, getting out after him.

He knew he probably should have waited for the others, but he had to know if it was the one or not. It was snowing more than he thought, and the wind had picked up, blow in his face. Hughes trudged through the drifts, raising his arm up to shield his eyes from the gusts. He slowed down, stopping completely to bend over and catch his breath when he reached the back of the truck. Panting, Maes looked up at the open doors. It was empty, "Damn . . ."

At the pounding of feet on snow, he looked over his shoulder, more pointedly at Breda than the others, "What did you say earlier to me? About them possibly being moved?"

"It's what I would do . . ." Heymans' voice trailed off as he took in the truck, "The location Ross gave us isn't far from here. They could have been moved to there."

"We don't know that with this damned snow. The tracks have to be covered by now," Havoc turned around, shouldering the rifle he'd pulled from the car, "We should get back in the car, and-."

"Hughes! Havoc! Breda!" Armstrong shouted from the side of the truck. They rushed at the yell, coming to a halt behind the large alchemist's imposing figure as he stood in the snow. For a moment, they looked on confused till Alex pointed one finger down at his feet. There against the pure white was a bright crimson spot. "Blood split in freshly fallen snow," the Strongarm Alchemist mused out loud, a poetic tone to his voice.

"It's not even as big as a coin," Jean scowled, "I don't think anyone had died yet just from that."

Breda pushed past them, pointing off to a few more feet ahead of them to a line of read that wove around a line of three more parked cars, and further down the alleyway, "It's a trail."

Hughes's mouth dropped open as he turned away, heading back towards their car, "The radio . . . I'm calling for back up. Search the cars for anything else we could use then follow the trail. If it enters a building, you wait."

"But Lieutenant Colonel, what if-?" Havoc started to protest till Armstrong cut him off with a strong cuff to the shoulder, "We wait for back up, Second Lieutenant. You heard the order."

Grumbling, he turned and started after the trail, "Understood, sir . . ."

Hughes frowned. He knew what he was doing, didn't he? The four of them alone wouldn't be enough to get rid of two dozen men with guns. He wasn't cut out for combat anyway, which was why he jumped on the position in Investigations, low mortality rate. But on the other hand, his best friend, his best friend's lover, and one of the two brothers he'd been watching over were now all captured. He was doing the right thing by thinking of everyone's safety, right? Mustang would kill them if anyone one of them died trying to rescue him, well, figuratively. Reaching the car, he grabbed the radio from where it rested between the front seats. He was doing the right thing, right?

"Fuery, come in."

"Sir? Sir! I'm here! Did you find them?! Over."

"Copy, I think we have. We're at the second location, an abandoned complex about five minutes from the train yard. Do you have the address? Over."

"Sir! I have it! I can have two units there in twenty minutes! The snow's slowing everything down! Over!"

"Dispatch back up here then . . . We found blood . . ."

"Sir?"

Maes glanced back at the trunk. Twenty more minutes? Could they wait that long? "We're going in without them. They can catch up. Over and out."

He dropped the radio onto the seat and climb back out, ignoring the squawking noise, "Sir!? Sir! Maes! Pick up! Sir! . . . SIR!"

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 15, Pulp Fiction. 


	15. Pulp Fiction

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 15 – Pulp Fiction

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

Story Notes: I'm begging you, dear readers, for the enjoying of everyone else reading this fic eventually, don't spoil it by giving away the plot twists about to drop from here on out to the end of the climax (heh). Given the build up to this point, it would be a disservice to your fellow readers.

That said, there is also some highly inflammatory content in this chapter that will happen to one character. You'll know it when you see it. I will be keeping it as non-graphic as I can. If it gets to you, I'm sorry. And no, don't panic, no one's dying. There are far worse things than death although. You'll love me, hate me, or maybe flame me for this, but . . . I couldn't tell this story otherwise. Again, I'm sorry.

Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

Roy shivered at the cold. He couldn't remember much of the walk after being taken from the truck except that it was limb-numbingly cold without a coat. And if he was cold, Riza in her thin, and very exposing, silk gown must have been frozen by the time the wind had stopped, signaling that they had entered a building. He had tried to remember the steps he'd taken once they were out of the snow, blinded by the cloth bag that remained on his head, but there was one twist in the path too many to remember. The only thing he remembered clearly was the opening of a door before he was shoved inside and forced to sit on the most uncomfortable wooden chair in creation. One pair of rough hands held his arms still as another undid the cuffs and repositioned them around the back of the chair before wrapping his wrists in freezing chains. The hands then worked on similarly chaining his ankles to the chair's legs.

Finished, Roy was left alone in silence for the moment, still shivering. What exactly did these people have planned for them? Riza said they were interested in the two of them alone, but why? They were clearly a military-style unit in execution and tactics, methodical and cool, not amateurs or overly passionate like the people of Ishbal or Lior. Military covert-ops? No, he hadn't pissed off anyone that far up, yet. That company, Delmark Arms, was the only suspect left on the table. But why? What did he ever do to them?

Well, there was Riza's crazy theory.

No matter how much evidence there was, he still couldn't wrap his head over the fact that he had been the target all along. Ok, so maybe he could list any number of people in the military that would want him dead, but none of them were any of his ex-lovers either. Perhaps he was still in denial, but to think that Margie, no matter how upset or vicious she was, could be the one pulling the strings of all their problems was about the most ludicrous things he'd ever heard. There was no way in hell she could possibly be the one responsible.

Besides, there were more important things at the moment, like the fear currently making his blood pound in his ears. If he was the only one taken into that particular room, then where was Riza?

He heard the door open again, and a scuffle of feet, turning his covered head towards the noise. Suddenly he felt wood pressed into the back of his hands, another chair, followed by a feminine grunt and the feel of something warm and smooth on his palms. Silk, he had to be touching silk. The fear he had been feeling melted away. She was alive and behind him. Roy could hear the chains being wrapped over her hands along with the sounds of her struggling. That was his girl alright, never one to give in. But then the sounds she made stopped with the rustle of cloth and the smack of skin on skin, "Stupid bitch."

Roy's bound hands tightened into fists. Another person to add to his need-to-immolate list. The cloth over his head was ripped off roughly, yanking his neck forward as he cringed. The wonderful treatment didn't make his headache feel any better. At least he could clearly hear the harsh chuckle above him even if his vision was still spotting. Blinking and groaning, Roy squinted up to see the man turn away, walking out a door to his left with at least two others. When the portal slammed shut, the Colonel finally relaxed in the chair as much as he could with being tied to it. They were alone, weren't they? He twisted, trying to look over his shoulder to see any piece of the woman behind him. "Riza?" Roy whispered to no response after a few moments, "Lieutenant?"

When Mustang felt a pair of icy hands touch his, he jumped, almost missing her soft utterance of, "You're still warm . . ."

He grabbed her cold fingers, clutching tightly, "Riza, are you alright?"

"I'm fine . . . just cold . . ." she trailed off then suddenly moaned in pain, "When we get out of here, I'm teaching those bastards what it feels like to get punched in the stomach."

Roy's dark eyes rolled upwards. When they got out of there, such wishful thinking from a usually highly practical woman. "Speaking of getting out of here, I'm open to suggestions," he muttered, glancing around the bare room.

He didn't see anything helpful present hanging on the plain slate blue walls, as if he was of was much use anyway. His gloves were gone, and his hands were tied, literally. The best he could do at the moment was attempting to warm Riza's chilled fingers. She must not have had any ideas of escape either as she went silent. Slowly, it sunk into Mustang that short of a timely rescue from either the brat or his men, there was no escaping whatever was in store for them. His grip on her hand tightened until he could feel her start to struggle, "Roy, any tighter and you're going to crush my fingers."

His hold on her loosened, "Sorry . . ."

They both fell silent again, unknowing that both of them were each staring down at the ground while lost in thought. "Roy?" the blonde asked after what felt like an eternity, shivering slightly.

"Yes?"

"When was the last time you were scared like this?"

"Ishbal . . . but it wasn't for the same reasons."

"I . . . I think I'm afraid of what's going to happen to us . . . just a little," Riza admitted, her voice rather small even if it didn't betray the fear she must have felt, "It's worse than that one time when-."

"Or the time when-."

"Yeah, I remember that one . . ." she suddenly laughed, and loudly, not the cute little giggles he was used to receiving after whispering something particularly naughty to her. Roy frowned, letting go of her hands. "This isn't funny, Riza," he grumbled, "And neither was my trip to the hospital after that incident."

"But you don't know what I was thinking about."

"Don't want to know."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but it's just . . . I was remembering though how your butt looked in that hospital gown."

For a split second a grin spread over Mustang's face till he remembered that they were still in trouble, "Lieutenant, focus, please?"

"Yes, sir."

"They really took all your guns?"

She sighed in remorse, "Yes."

The Colonel frowned, "And they took my gloves, which leaves our combat capabilities at . . . nil."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Roy. Even if we still had our weapons how would we even release our hands to use them?" Riza growled in frustration, and he heard her moving around on the chair against the chains, "If I just had one pistol, even a tiny one, I could shoot through these things and-."

She suddenly stopped moving, her words cut off. He moved around in the chair trying to get a glimpse of what made her pause, "Lieutenant?"

"Did they just take your gloves, Roy?"

His dark eyes widened, "You tell me. I was kind of unconscious at the time."

"How am I to know?! I was being corralled into a truck at the time!"

"Riza, did they search FullMetal and me thoroughly or not?"

She sighed, "I don't know . . ."

"You don't know?"

"I just said I didn't know. Shall I move my chair to feel you up just to make sure?"

"That actually sounds kind of nice, Lieutenant."

"Sir . . ." she murmured dangerously, "Time to focus, please? Where were all your guns."

"One in the shoulder holster and one . . ." Roy trailed off, remember exactly where there was a second gun on his person, "It's holstered down the back of my pants."

Riza inhaled sharply, trying not to gasp, "Is it still there?"

He didn't need her prompting question to start wiggling in his seat, trying to feel for the gun somewhere under his jacket and at the waistband of his trousers. Letting go of her hands and feeling through the wooden slats, he immediately came upon a lump. The gun was still there. Twisting, Roy tried to slid his entire hand through the back of the chair and up the jacket but with little lucky. No matter how much he pushed back, or grunted with effort, or came close to breaking his wrist, the tips of his fingers could only get through enough to graze the gun's handle. Giving up, he collapsed back in the chair, "It's there, but I can't get it. My hand's too big."

"Let me try," Riza said as the chains clinked from her shuffling. Her hands strained against the metal links, reaching through the wood slats to touch the back of his jacket. Roy jumped as her fingers pulled on his jacket, "Stop that."

"This isn't a time to be ticklish, sir."

"I'm not being tickled, I'm being groped. Reach those hands higher, Lieutenant."

She squeezed and felt hard flesh through the woolen cloth instead of hardened metal, blushing as she murmured, "Um, sorry."

Trying again, she reached upwards, past his belt till she felt a smoother cloth contrasted with cool metal. "To your right a little," Roy mentioned, twisting in the chair, "Do you feel it?"

She could feel it alright, but the way he asked it couldn't stop the laughter bubbling out of her voice. He groaned, "Focus, Lieutenant."

"Right, sorry," Riza apologized between snorts of giggles, steadying her hands as she calmed down. This wasn't the time for silliness. They needed that gun. Breathing deeply, she reached for the weapon again, slowly pushing the muzzle up and out with one hand while waiting for it to fall into the other. She almost had it past the belt when Roy suddenly jerked. The blonde gasped, fumbling when the handle fell into her palm and nearly slipped right out, "Damnit, Roy! I almost dropped it!"

"You got it?! What are you waiting for?! Blow these-!"

"Are you nuts?! Keep it down!" she screeched back before turning down the harsh hiss of her voice as well, "Do you want to alert every guard in the area to what we're doing?"

Roy's mouth snapped shut and he relaxed in the chair again, "Well, they're going to hear that gun as soon as you fire it . . . Can you aim it at your chains?"

Riza thought about his question, shifting experimentally in trying to find a place to aim the barrel of the gun. It was actually rather simple for her to aim the gun at her own bonds. Whoever had wrapped the chains on her wrists had given her enough slack to wedge the pistol right at the lock in the center and still be able to pull the trigger. But the sound would draw all the wrong types of attention. She could never free herself and Roy before company with bigger guns arrived. Her mind flipped over that thought. Both of them could never make a break for it, but why would he ask her if he could free herself unless . . . ? The blonde shivered. It was just like Roy to put everyone else before him, especially her. "No," she said, loud and clearly enough for him not to miss her words.

"No? What do you mean no? You mean you can't fire off your chains?"

"I mean I'm not leaving you behind . . . sir."

Roy muttered a curse under his breath. He should have known better. Of course she would have figured it out before he even proposed the idea. And she already beat him past the explanation and went right to the fighting. The Colonel jerked in the chair in frustration, "This isn't a discussion, Lieutenant, especially if I order you to free yourself and go."

"You're right, Roy, this isn't a discussion because I'm not leaving you."

"Riza . . ." he growled her name, low and threateningly even if he lacked the usual fire to back it up, "They want me the most. Why else go to all this trouble? They want something from me most likely, and you . . . you are my weakness and their way to get what they want."

"Pardon me, sir, but no shit," she growled back with just as much venom, "They have FullMetal and the Rockbell girl to use as collateral against you as well. You would cave just a quickly if a gun was put against their heads as much as my own, so don't even-."

"One, leave the cursing to me, Riza. And two, you have no idea what I will and won't cave to, so don't presume to know. And three, I will not-," Roy tired to say before choking on his words. Her head turned at the noises he made, emotions shifting from anger to concern. When he finally did speak again, there was a hesitation in his tone that made her wonder what he kept to himself, "I will not let you be used as a bargaining piece against me. Get out of here, Riza, and get help."

"No," she spat back even if her voice choked over that simple word too, "I'm not leaving you, Roy."

"Damnit, Riza! Do as I say!"

"Keep it down!" the blonde yelled back, ignore the beads of moisture forming in her brown eyes, "I swear I will not leave you. You cannot persuade me otherwise."

"I order you to blast through those chains and go, Lieutenant," Roy threatened, "Or else it's insubordination. I swear I'll have you court-martialed."

"Then, quite frankly . . . Make me, Colonel, because I'd love see you try."

He never should have even tried that threat; it never worked since he never could court-martial any of them willingly. Mustang groaned frustration, his head flopping back against hers, "Why do you have to be such a difficult woman? Just . . . go, Riza, please? I can withstand anything, except . . . Please, save yourself."

The heartbroken sincerity in his voice made the water in her eyes spill over, a tear falling down her cheek. Why did he have to be so selfless? If she did leave, then what? He could be dead by the time she found help, or she could die trying to escape anyway. In the end, whether she stayed or went wouldn't make much of a difference. After all, if this was the end for the both of them, she didn't want to be anywhere else except with him. Her head hung low, "I swore I wouldn't leave you, and I won't. Why can't you understand that this is my choice? You're my Colonel, and . . . Please, just don't ask me to abandon you, Roy, because I never will . . . I-."

He cut her off with a resigned sigh, "I know . . ."

They both fell silent, both unknowingly staring at the floor together again. The feeling of certain dread and certain uncertainty had settled over them once more. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he see how she felt? If things had been different, if they could change the past, would they still have been there, chained to chairs while waiting for their fate to make itself know? The moments seemed to drag on until Riza felt Roy's hands over hers and the gun. She stiffened, her finger still on the trigger, "Don't-."

"I know, I won't do that," Mustang reassured her gently despite the raspy edge on his tone, "I . . . I won't make you leave. Just let me hold your hands a little while longer."

"Don't talk like that. We're not going to die," she cringed, wishing she hadn't cursed that thought into existence, "I mean, anything could happen, but . . ."

"I know, Riza . . . There are worst things than death . . ."

She shivered, "Please. Don't talk anymore. I don't want to think about it."

"I just wanted to tell you, just in case, that . . . I-."

"I already know."

Roy's grip on her hands tightened, but if it hurt her, she didn't say anything. Her head fell back against his, pressed close enough that he could almost sense the rapid pulse in her veins. He glanced over to the door they had come through. No matter what walked into the room to greet them, they would face it, together.

* * *

Ed peeked around the corner to find the hallway empty then waved back to Winry as she stood next to his shoulder. She slid past him, creeping around past him. The mechanic girl clung to the improvised wrench instead of toting it happily like when they first left their cell. After the first set of guards they ran into with guns, he didn't blame her for being more cautious rather than adventurous. With her leading the way, the young alchemist was feeling more cautious himself. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" he asked for about the tenth time since she initially ran off.

"How would I know for sure? I did the best I could to try to remember the way here, but I'm not perfect like you."

"No kidding, you keep forgetting pieces and parts of me," Edward groused at her, "I can remember over one hundred different transmutation circles and you can't even remember one lousy screw."

Her hands tightened on the wrench till her knuckles turned white, taking a few more steps down the hall. Winry's shoulders twitched, and he ducked on instinct, knowing exactly what he mouth had wrought. And yet, about five seconds after he realized his mistake, the wrench didn't connect with his head. Instead she snorted and hefted the weapon over to her other shoulder, "If you don't like my work then find yourself a new mechanic, one who will do shoddy work and charge you your other arm and leg."

Ed winced, about to open his mouth with yet another apology when her rant continued, "And another thing. My work is vastly more complex than your little drawings or clapping your hands to make that light show of yours. Once you can assemble one sliding elbow joint that doesn't catch and can connect it to the micro motors without it seizing and then machine the cover plates so that it looks remotely human, then you can criticize me on forgetting one lousy screw."

"Ah, I didn't mean it like-."

Winry growled in frustration, stamping her foot on the stone floor as they came to another intersection, "Great! Now I'm so angry I forgot which way we were supposed to go next!"

She slumped, putting her hand up against the wall to lean against it. Why did he have to pick that moment to insert his foot into his mouth once more? Being angry with him again was getting old quickly. She didn't want to be angry with him. It just so happened that he knew exactly which of her buttons to push, intended or not. And he pushed them almost every time he was with her, intended or not. Then again, he also knew which ones to push to put her back together again after falling apart.

Ed moved up next to her, craning up slightly to put his head on her bare shoulder. She stiffened, grip on the wrench still tight. Just once she wanted to go back to whacking him and not feeling guilty. As he lowered his face to nuzzle her skin, she relaxed, letting go of the deep breath she held. His lips brushed over her and her knee weakened, nearly missing the apology he whispered into her flesh, "I'm sorry?"

Winry grumbled and shrugged him off. He was indeed blessed by being so cute, "Come on. I think I remember now. It's this-."

Just as her hand rose up to point straight ahead, she froze, "-way."

At the other end of the hallway stood two men in black, staring back at them in equal shock. Standing still even as they reached for their guns, Ed shoved her backwards and against the wall, "Stay here!"

She heard the clap, the flash of light, and the shriek of metal before watching as he took off down the hall towards the guards. Stay?! He told her to stay?! What kind of helpless idiot did he think she was?! Lifting the wrench, she was about to start after Edward when something grabbed her shoulder, propelling her backwards once again. The mechanic landed against a body, strong arms grappling her. A panicked scream stuck in Winry's throat as she looked up, wide-eyed to see a man towering over her. He leered back as his meaty hand took hold of her wrist, and her stare shifted gears from shock to ill-intent.

Her heel stomped onto his foot, crushing something with a crack as his hand sprung open. Not wasting time, she jabbed the handle of the wrench backwards and struck flesh. He went sprawling away from her with a few staggered steps, glaring at her in fury as she spun around. Winry nearly froze again as he charged forward. What the hell was she thinking!? This guy was huge and very much pissed off. Ok, not at big as Major Armstrong, but enough to give her pause as he lashed out at her face. She lifted the wrench to block the open hand, keeping herself from being slapped while being knocked into the wall instead. Cringing from the blow, she ducked in time to avoid another swipe. She frantically backpedaled as he came after her, shouting, "Come back here!"

She glanced over her shoulder to see Ed looking at her frantically, fending off the two other guards, "Winry!"

The large man reached out to grab her, but this time she stood her ground. As soon as one finger touched her skin, she struck, slamming the wrench down on his neck and shoulder with a shout. The blow reverberated though his body, buckling as he started to collapse at her feet. Winry shot backwards with a yelp, avoiding being caught under him in the tumble. She raised the wrench again, readying another strike as the man groaned in pain and moved before going limp. Her breath slowed in relief, then looked up. Another man dressed in black stared at her in shock, "You, you-."

He cut off his own words as he reached for the rifle slung over his should. The man quickly raised it to aim at her. "Edward!" Winry shouted, dropping the wrench and closing her eyes.

Feet pounded on stone behind her. The rifle clicked; the last thing she heard before the crack of power filled the air around her. The noise was deafening and she was caught in the middle of it, covering her ears and ducking down. Then suddenly, with a final swish of sound, the chaos disappeared. She opened her eyes again and slowly looked up. Both men were gone, a rock barrier standing in place in her vision. Her head turned upward even more to see Edward leaning over her, braced against the new wall. A lop-sided grin plastered across his face, one she wanted desperately in that moment to kiss away, "Are you alright?"

Her mouth dropped open, squeaking while staring wide-eyed up at him, "Yeah, I'm fine!"

Slowly, that grin disappeared upon hearing more voices in the distance. His head turned towards the noise as it increased with the addition of footsteps, "We have to get out of here."

Pulling away from the wall, he yanked Winry back to her feet and into a run, barely giving her time to scoop up the wrench. It wasn't until they had turned a corner that she realized that they were going in the opposite direction of where she had pointed to earlier. "Ed! This is the wrong way!" she yelled at him, trying to break his grip on her wrist.

He wouldn't let go, even as they nearly collided while turning another corner, "We can't go that way, too many people that direction."

"But you don't know which way is out!"

"Not trying to find a way out!"

"But-!"

"I can't fight all of them alone! I need Al, Armstrong, or even Colonel Bastard right about now! We're going to save him, and the Lieutenant, and then we're breaking out of here!" Edward yelled, stopping once they took a right at another intersection. Winry pressed herself against the wall, watching as his hands came together with blue-white sparks before touching the stone floor. Another rock barrier rose up, and she sighed, "How are we going to get out when you keep cutting off our exits?"

The young alchemist looked at her, ignoring the question until he suddenly reached for her hand, "I'll make us a path."

His statement didn't shock the mechanic at all while letting herself be pulled along by him. That was just like Edward, ready to crash through walls to get something done. One of these days it was going to get him into another case of trouble, she could just tell. The crummy wrench bounced on her shoulder. Well, at least he gave her something to remember the night by. Winry fought down the sigh and tried to keep up with his fast pace without trampling on her already ruined skirts. Just what had she gotten herself into anyway by allowing him to take her on one simple date?

* * *

The silence seemed to drag in the air for an eternity. They'd run out of words to yell at each other long ago. The only things that remained joined together were their hands, the gun between them, and their leaning heads. Roy didn't move from where his head was on the back of Riza's, too lazy to do otherwise. He never thought it would take their captors this long to scrounge up an interrogator. Something was wrong, he could almost feel it. What were they waiting for? As the quiet moments seemed to take up minutes, the more anxious he became. "Riza?" he whispered, turning his head slightly.

She gave a startled gasp, "What?"

Roy blinked, lifting his head off of hers, "What were you doing?"

The blonde moaned, wincing to ease the tiredness in her eyes, "Dozing off . . ."

"This isn't the time for that."

"With all that's happened tonight, can you blame me for being exhausted? I mean, they have been keeping us waiting a while."

"Tell me something I don't know, Lieutenant," he scowled, glancing around again, "I don't like this . . . Do try to stay alert? You never know-."

Roy stopped as soon as he heard feet from the other side of the door. The sound was in the distance but getting closer; and it wasn't heavy boots he hear either. His voice stuck. This was it. He pulled on Riza's hands, concealing the gun, "Don't do anything you don't have to. Don't say anything they can use against us. Don't-."

"I know the military's rules for interrogation, Roy. Basic officer's training, remember."

"I know, just-."

"No matter what they do to us, don't give up. I know . . ."

The sound of steps stopped in front of the door then the scraping of a key being turned in a lock. With a click, the door opened and the handle turned. Roy frowned as two men in black filed into the room, but that look was wiped from his face as soon as a third smaller figure stepped into the room. There was no mistaking the red hair, those green eyes, and pale skin, or how she sauntered to stand in front of him. The woman giggled while studying him, a noise that was at once both harsh and seductive. Or at least he found it seductive once. Now it only made the Colonel wince. He looked up at the woman in the long green gown and frowned, "Hello, Margie."

"Oh Roy, how wonderful to see you again," she breathed, smiling beautifully at him before sighing dramatically, "It's a shame though that it had to be under these circumstances."

Riza let out an irritated groan, wishing her hands were free so that she could rub the soon to be throbbing headache away from her temples. She just had to be right, didn't she? She shook her head, "Marguerite Everard, Delmark Arms board of directors, and Colonel Mustang's jilted ex-girlfriend."

The blonde bit down on her tongue to keep from hissing out an 'I told you so' at him; so much for saving those words for a rainy day. Even if she didn't say a thing, Roy could feel her earlier theories ringing in his thoughts. Damnit, she was right after all and he was wrong. Margie was at the center of it all. He was never going to live this one down. And yet, the pieces still didn't fit in his head. Why? How? She slapped him after all after he broke it off. What woman would be possessed enough to go to such lengths? Especially with at least half the Central City Military forces looking for them now after the chaos at the Conservatory? He looked up to see Margie's jade-hued eyes harden into stones, pointed directly over his shoulder at Riza, "I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet."

Roy inhaled a sharp breath, remembering why he broke up with the redhead in the first place. Yes, she could and would be crazy enough to do pursue him that much. He felt Riza stiffen, and he knew she was probably sitting up perfectly straight, defiant as ever, "First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

Margie's gaze shifted from her down towards the Colonel, going from ice cold to flaming pissed, "You never told me someone like her was under your command."

A lame excuse formed in his head, about to come out when he was cut off, "Obviously he didn't tell you a lot of things."

The glance he got from the redhead looked as if it would burn right through him. Roy laughed nervously, muttering through a half-hearted grin, "You're not helping, Lieutenant."

Riza sighed, rattling her chains, "Respectfully, sir, you have lousy tastes in women."

She then realized too late what it also said about her taste in men. He opened his mouth to yell at her when Margie suddenly laughed. Roy winced again even if the sound didn't ease his nervousness. Slowly, she wound down to a soft giggle, sliding up closer to the dark-haired man. "No wonder she was with you tonight. She knows you too well," the redhead's hand came up to hold his cheek, "Almost like I do."

Roy cringed as her fingers brushed a livid bruise by the side of his eye. She gasped, pulling her hand away as if she'd be burnt, "You poor thing. Who did this to you?"

He glared up at her, two accusatory words dancing on his tongue, ok, maybe five words, till she turned away from him to face the two men standing in the room. "Which one of your men did this? I told you that 'he' especially wasn't supposed to harm at all, not one black hair on his head," she hissed at them as Roy blinked, "Did I not make myself clear?"

They both looked at each other, mouths flapping like fish till the short of the pair spoke up, "Yes. We're very sorry. One of the new recruits got a little overzealous when one of the women provoked him. We get it under control, but-."

"I asked who did this!? Who damaged him?!" she screeched, "I am paying to follow orders, not damage my property!"

Both men cringed then looked downcast, not daring to look up at the irate woman until one of them chose to answer, "Jenkins. He's . . . he's right outside, standing guard."

Margie went silent then methodically lifted the skirt of her gown and bent over, standing up again with a small pistol in her hand. She hid the gun behind her back while walking back towards the door she originally came through. Roy's eyebrows rose as he watched her smile sweetly through the crack she left open in the doorway, "Hello, are you Jenkins?"

"Yes, ma'am. What can I-?"

He never got to finish the question as the shots rung through the room and the hallway. The body hit the ground with a thud as Roy's heart stuck in his throat. He wasn't alone as he felt Riza's hand clench his, whispering, "And you dated her? What were you thinking?!"

"Obviously back then she had some shreds of humanity left!" he hissed under his breath, "How was I to know she'd turn into this!?"

"Next you'll tell me that you did like her for her personality!"

Roy didn't get a chance to answer the blonde as Margie walked back into the room, placing the gun back into the holster on her ankle. She smiled at him, making the Colonel wish he could sink lower in the chair, before turning towards the two men with a sneer on her face, "I don't know why I bother to pay you so much if you can't keep your men more disciplined. Consider yourselves lucky that this assignment of mine is easier those cannons were, or was until you screwed it up. I only asked one thing of you both . . ."

"We're sorry, ma'am."

"It won't happen again."

She spluttered, hips cocked to the side as her arms crossed, "Of course it won't."

Roy's eyebrows rose up. Cannons? Did she mean those alchemy enhanced cannons they were sent to find and destroy in the first place? What did she have to-? His thoughts stopped, half-formed when Riza spoke, "That's how this started, isn't it? You were trying to get a hold of those cannons yourself, for your company."

Margie's full lips quirked into a smirk, "She's bright. No wonder you keep her under you, Roy."

He frowned, "She's spirited though."

"You always did have a weakness for spirit. It's why you loved me," the redhead said as she moved around to look at the Lieutenant, "But she's not entirely correct."

"Where am I wrong then?"

"Those cannons were being made by our competition, Olean Artillery, selling them through a criminal fencing group. They were strictly for the black market and for profit. You see, there's a whole world out there besides the military that want weapons, and if your goods can outdo the military stock then you're guaranteed sales to every disgruntled citizenry just waiting for a chance to rise up and every mercenary group looking to take pot shots. And those cannons could put a serious dent into anything the military could throw at them, even you darling," she explained, smiling at Roy from behind his back.

Riza frowned, "So you set up the raid, to get the Military to do the dirty work for you."

"Of course. We couldn't have our products being undermined, now could we? So, I personally took it upon myself as the company's 'Foundation' director, and loyal citizen of the Amestris Military State, to leak what I knew of these deals to the proper authorities. I even went to Central Headquarters myself to find out when justice would be served. I just never expected to find my Mustang's signature on the forms in charge of the operation."

So that was how her job stopped being about the cannons and became about him. The phone calls had started then too. Roy groaned, "The Quartermaster's office, of course an arms company representative would have access to it."

'I told you so' rang loud and clear in Riza's head, "So then why did you plant the bomb? Why did buyer, Heinor, move early if he was on your payroll?"

Margie's eyes narrowed on the blonde woman, "And how do you know he was?"

"The bank accounts. The money to his group came from your 'Foundation'," Roy added, "Said 'Foundation' must be a front for all of Delmark Arms' double dealings."

"You paid him, got him in contact with Olean's criminal fence to make the deal, and dropped it all in the military's lap. But, Heinor must have known about the bomb and moved early, forcing us to move early, and forcing you to come up with something else, but why? All you needed to do was keep us from getting to your stooge, the military would have done the rest . . ." Riza questioned before trailing off, her mind filling in the answer for her, ". . . Unless the whole point after finding out that the Colonel was in Central was to kill him?"

Margie's stare remained stuck on the Lieutenant, "I knew there was a reason I didn't like seeing you hanging around my Roy. You're much too smart for your own good, but you obviously haven't put it all together till now."

Riza sighed, shaking her head, "I get it now. You planted the snipers on the warehouse roof and on the streets the next day, but they were lousy aim or you order them just to kill everyone. That's how I thought they were going after . . ."

"That little brat? You thought I was after that little runt of a useless, half-pint pipsqueak? . . . I take it back. You're dumber than I thought."

"He isn't exactly useless . . . even if he is a shrimp," Roy muttered, "That means you must have followed us to the Lieutenant's home. You knew we were there all along. If you wanted to kill me, why didn't you when you had the chance? Why let me live?"

"Because I changed my mind. Isn't a woman allowed to change her mind?" she walked around the pair again, glaring at Roy once she stood before him, "Yes, I wanted to kill you. No man has ever walked out on me before, or made a public spectacle of it."

"You're the one that broke all the windows before I tried to throw you out. You made the spectacle of it," he growled. The strike across his face came hard and swift, rattling in head. He groaned at the pain, the world going black for a second until he could focus on Margie's narrowed eyes again. A half-second later, she was looking very remorsefully down at him, cradling the cheek she just punched while speaking tenderly, "I'm sorry, Roy, but you shouldn't make me do that to you."

His head reared away from her touch, but she continued anyway, "You were the one that wanted it to be over. I never did. I just, just couldn't let you go . . . I thought I wanted you dead, but really, when I found you standing outside that little rat hole of an apartment building, I knew I wanted you back, just the way it was."

"I told you it was over, Margie. This isn't a way to win me back."

"I know. I know . . ." she trailed off, looking as if she was going to cry, "But, you're the one that said you found someone else, that you loved her over me. I just had to know who my new competition was. Maybe once I got rid of her, then maybe you'd love me again?"

"I never-,"

"Yes, you did! You said exactly that you never told me you loved me, which is a lie! You said you only ever said those words to one woman, which has to be a lie!" Margie screamed in his face, clutching him by the shirt collar, "So which is it?! I want to know the truth!"

Roy paled as he felt Riza's hands shiver in his. Did the redhead not know? Why else would she ask for the blonde Lieutenant's presence at this reunion? How could she not know that they were lovers? Everyone else in Headquarters at least suspected it of them. When he didn't answer, Margie's hands went from clenching his shirt to encircling his neck, slowly choking the air from him, "Tell me what I want to hear, lover . . ."

He fought under her strong gasp, trying to breathe until he could barely get air to his lungs to speak, "There is someone else . . . you stupid-."

Her hands let up only to slap him across the face, the force nearly knocking him over in the chair. Roy panted, glaring at the crazy redhead in spite of her glare back at him. And yet, that anger flipped off as if someone hit a switch on her, turning back to sympathy as she moved to hug him, "Now look what you made me do."

He grunted as she sat sideways on his lap, "Who is she then, Roy, your current flame?"

"I would have to be insane to tell you. I can only imagine what you'd do to her," he growled, dark eyes boring into her. Margie giggled at him, her voice not glass-scraping for once. She only hugged him tighter while petting his black hair no matter how much he tried to get away from her touch, "You will tell me because if you don't your friends will suffer for your silence worse than that bimbo you claim to love. And I think I'll start with your little, blonde underling. She's been so troublesome to me already."

Riza's blood ran cold, "The investigator . . . You hired him and killed him because of me."

"This is why you're so troublesome. You're so perceptive, but still blind at the same time."

Slowly, Margie unpeeled herself from Roy's lap, walking back towards the blonde bound woman. She grabbed the Lieutenant by the chin as she struggled, nails digging into her skin, "At first I thought it was you he was referring to, with the flowers, and how he was staying with you and the kid. I wanted to find out more. I wanted to know all about you, Riza. I wanted to find out about all the women close to my man, but you of them all seemed to be the closest, so I just had to find out. I hired that useless dick to follow you for me so I could keep my eye on my precious Roy, but he just had to get caught then spill his guts, so I killed him myself before he could talk. He didn't find out anything useful anyway, just stuff I already knew."

The redhead's finger's tightened, bruising her face as she cringed in pain, "After that, I heard about his little plan around Central Headquarters. Your department is so helpful like that, especially the fat one, Heymans. After a visit to the bank, I found the ballet tickets Roy bought in his account ledger. It was simple from there to find out what he was doing, baiting a trap for me. I knew it was coming but I had to go, especially after I found out that those tickets were for a Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mustang. I knew he'd bring her along then."

She let go of Riza, but not before forcibly throwing her head aside. Panting, she let her brown eyes closed. That stupid pair of tickets of his and his ideas of romance were getting them caught. She must have figured it out right? But then why all the dramatic questioning of Roy? It didn't make sense. But, as she looked back up at Margie, she could see the answer coming, "But, I was wrong. Now I know the one couldn't possibly be your date for the night. Even you're not that dumb to bring the woman you love into danger. I knew it couldn't be your dear Lieutenant either."

Her gaze went back to the blonde, "She's too anal and too much of a perfectionist for you, and much too much of a mother hen. I know you well. You like messy women like me. We make life so much more exciting than snooty desk twerps. You could love her like you do all your other underlings, but couldn't really love her love her, could you? Then I thought about that other blonde, the one I heard you bought train tickets for."

Both of them cringed as they knew whom she alluded to; none other than Winry. If Margie noticed, she didn't say anything except to continue on her topic, "But when I watched her hug and kiss that boy on the platform, I knew she wasn't the one either. I couldn't put my finger on who was the one. Watching you all those days before the ballet performance, I knew the only way I would ever find out is to ask you myself. And so, here we are."

She bent over Roy, tenderly nudging his face to look at her but he kept turning away. Eventually, Margie pulled his hair into fists, forcing his eyes to meet hers, "Who is she, dearest? Maybe I won't hurt her after all. Maybe I just want to see if she's as worthy of you as I am? Tell me, please?"

"My mother," the Colonel said with all the seriousness he could muster. The redhead's green eyes were livid in fury as she shook. Instead of being afraid at the anger radiating from her, Roy burst out in laughter only to be silenced in a punch to the stomach. He nearly doubled over in the chair, wheezing for breath. "I asked a simple question, Roy," Margie ground through her teeth, "So answer it."

"It certainly isn't you," he snickered.

She screeched; the noise enough to bring pain to his poor ears until she cuffed him on the side of the face in a slap that left his head ringing. The chair nearly toppled over as he swayed, falling back against it when she slapped him in the opposite direction. He could feel Riza tense as he nearly crashed his chair into hers, whispering quickly, "Roy?"

He groaned, his brow knitted together in the pain that throbbed through his head. Of bad mistakes he ever made with women, dating Margie before she lost her mind was beginning to seem like the biggest mistake he ever made. He shook his head, ignoring the redhead looming over him while mumbling under his breath to no one but himself, "Worthy of me, my ass. You aren't worthy enough to even be a stone kicked out of her way."

She couldn't help it. The sentiment was so sappy and made her so proud of him in that moment that Riza burst out in silly laughter, almost doubling over with a fit of giggles. Margie screamed as both of them started laughing, snickers even coming from the two armed guards in the room, "Shut up! All of you shut up!"

The laughter didn't stop until she backhanded Roy, making him crash backwards into Riza again. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything. If Margie knew, which she obviously did not, what would she do to them, to her? And, as she knew too well, there was an underground labyrinth full of guards to help their captor in whatever she wanted. She could only imagine what the redhead might do. The Lieutenant's blood ran cold. She sat still and silent even as she heard Roy continue to groan in pain, wanting nothing more than to comfort him even if she couldn't. Slowly, he sat up again, trying to catch his breath, "I won't tell you a thing."

The redhead looked at him, torn, "Why do you have to do this? Why do you treat me like this when I love you?"

He glared at her, angry fire dancing through his mind, "This? This is love to you?" muttering again, he shook his head, "You're crazier than I thought."

"No. This is tough love as my father called it. This is punishment for how badly you've treated me when all I've wanted was your affection again. I want to love you but you keep being so bad to me. You've been a very bad boy, Roy Mustang," Margie said as she lifted her long skirts, straddling his lap, "But, I'm willing to forgive you . . . I do still love you . . . Please just listen to me."

Her hands caressed his face even as he twisted to get away from her, "Get off of me, you crazy bit-!"

The curse was cut off with a sharp tug on Roy's hair, making him cringe, "I am not crazy!"

Abruptly, Margie's face seemed to dissolve from anger into sorrow as if another switch had been flipped. Tears streamed down her face while letting go of his scalp. With a wail, she threw her arms around the Colonel, sobbing into his shoulder. He couldn't keep his eyes from rolling upwards. If she wasn't crazy then his whole definition of the word was skewed out of proportion. The redhead sniffled, still clinging to his jacket while mumbling her words between the watery tears, "Why can't you understand how I feel? Don't you know what it's like to love someone and lose them before you realize it?"

He felt Riza's hand tighten its grip on his, "Roy, don't-."

Her words were already too late as he shook in fury. If he could have murdered her in cold anger, he would have. Margie, for all her protestations on knowing him, never knew a damned thing about him. She had no idea what he saw, and could only imagine what he had done. Mustang's dark eyes hardened when she looked up at him again, sparking with fire even as his voice went as cold as ice, "Do you know what love is, Marguerite Everard, really?"

"Yes, of course. It's us, what we had, isn't it?"

She tried to touch his face only to have him pull away again, "Now who is lying? And to yourself as well."

Her green eyes narrowed, "Just what are you trying to say, Roy?"

"That you wouldn't know what real love is, ever. It was never us. Love is looking down the barrel of an enemy's rifle, trying to protect the person you love and know you're going to die trying, that you both will die in each other arms. That's what love is, Margie, protecting those who are most important to you, not hurting them like some possessive sadist."

For a moment, there was a flash across the redhead's face, as if a realization had struck her. Then, ever so slowly, the look went away, replaced with one of jealousy, "So, there is someone else after all."

Roy glared back, wishing for not the first time that he didn't need his glove to burn someone alive, "I will never tell you."

Margie's fingers dug into the shoulders of his black jacket, trembling with fury, "Then you leave me no choice. It doesn't matter anyway. I will make you love me again, and I don't care if it is real, fake, or a lie. You're mine, Roy Mustang, and no one else's."

She looked over at the two men, staring at them, "The bitch is yours, payment for services rendered. Do what you will, just get her from my sight, and get out of here, now . . . I want some time alone with what's mine."

Roy paled as the two men took a step forward, leering at the blonde bound to the chair behind his. This couldn't happen. He couldn't let this happen. "Riza?" he whispered her name.

"I know, sir," the Lieutenant breathed in reply. They had waited long enough. His hands let go of hers as he roared, jerking forward to butt into the redhead. Their heads collided and Margie went sprawling from his lap to fall onto the floor. The gunshot he expected never came as he frantically twisted in the chair, reaching for her hands again only to find them empty, "What are you-? Where's"

"Everything's fine, I-," Riza never got a chance to finish her words as one of the men yanked her chair away from his and turned her around. A rifle clicked, the barrel pressed into Roy's shoulder as he grunted, "Don't think of trying anything either, soldier girl, or your hero loses an arm."

The Lieutenant's shoulders slumped in defeat. At least she still had the gun safely tucked down the back of her dress. As Margie surged to her feet and slapped her Colonel across the face once more, her brown eyes narrowed on the redhead. That woman would pay for what she did to them, most likely with her life if she could help it. Once she took care of these two goons, nothing would stop her killing the woman. Looking back up to meet Riza's stare, Margie's shout rung in the small room, "Get her out of here now! And kill her when you're done!"

Her chair was pulled backwards through another open doorway, wood scraping on the stone floor. Roy turned to watch her being taken away, pain laced in his dark eyes as he shouted, "Wait! Don't-!"

The door slammed closed before she even had a chance to breath. Her heart sank and her head fell, "I'll be fine . . ."

"Are you so sure of that? I've always wanted to try military cunt."

Riza's head slowly rose up to stare at the man who had said that as he sneered at her, fingering his rifle. His companion chimed in as well, pulled her chair into the center of the room, "I bet she polishes guns real well."

She smirked, a fist tightening on the pistol's handle. Out of all the choices she had to make in the next few minutes, perhaps the hardest one that immediately came to the mind of the Lieutenant was which one of them she wanted to kill first.

* * *

Roy's hands shook in fury, staring up at Margie as she smirked down on him, "You are delusional, psychotic, absolutely crazy, sadistic . . . "

"And your point is?"

"This won't end well for you. The military is probably already looking for this complex. If they harm one hair on her head-."

"Do I look like I care what happens to your blonde bitch? What will you do for her now anyway? No fire with the snap of your fingers, no one here to back you up. You're not a hero. You're just as weak as every other man . . . but I still love you, weak and all," Margie professed, still, lifting her green skirts again to straddle his lap and the chair. Roy shuddered, blocking out her words from his mind. He wasn't weak, damnit! And he wasn't useless either! He just needed a way out . . . When she hugged him, he turned away to glare at the wall instead. He ignored how she snuggled against his neck, suppressing a cringe of revulsion as she purred, "All you have is me now. You're mine."

"Let me go, Margie, and maybe we can sort this out before anyone gets hurt. You obviously need help, and-."

Mustang's words stopped as her lips crushed into his. He fought against her kiss, trying to pull away while keeping his mouth tightly shut against the invasion. After a few moments, he ripped away from her then spat in her face, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"But I want to love you . . ."

"I told you, this isn't-."

She kissed him again with bruising force as he continued to try to rebel against her. No matter how much he pushed, the redhead clung to him like a creeping vine unable to be dislodged. When she finally let up, Roy choked for air, nearly snarling as he tried to shake her off while her lips nibbled on his cheek then down his neck. And yet, as she took her time in kissing his skin, he stopped fighting and glanced over his shoulder. This was . . . annoying, to say the least. He didn't have time for this as he twisted to look at the door Riza had been dragged through. What was she thinking anyway? Where was that gun she had? Ignoring the redhead completely with a roll of his eyes, Mustang focused on the door entirely. She was ok. She needed to be ok. If she wasn't ok, he'd burn the entire place down around them.

And yet his thoughts stopped with a harsh bite to his neck as he yelped, "Damnit! Would you-?!"

Her hands yanked his hair, turning him back to look at her, "You're ignoring me . . ."

"Of course I'm ignoring you! I don't care what you do to me, just let her go!"

Her green eyes narrowed dangerously. A second later, her hands fisted into tight balls and beat down on his face and neck as she screamed, "I knew it! It is her! It always was her! You fucking bastard! I love you! I won't let her have you!"

Roy tried to avoid her blows but couldn't with nowhere else to go, "Stop it, Margie!"

The strength in her punches let out as soon as he yelled at her, replaced with a sob as she cried into the shoulder she had just finished bruising. He tried to shake off the pain, but couldn't, not any longer as he cringed horribly. Everywhere on his face and head seemed to hurt. In spite of all the pain he was in, Roy still slowly raised his head enough to look at the door. Riza . . . she'd be ok, wouldn't she? All he had to do was just hold out, maybe persuade the crazy woman to let her go, but in exchange for what? That was a thought he wished hadn't crossed his mind. He didn't notice the redhead hands as she peeled the ruined tuxedo jacket from his shoulders. The only thing he did care about was the most important person to him held captive behind that door. Margie bit his neck again, but he didn't even flinch or turn to look back. "Stop it, Margie," he growled in annoyance when she didn't let up, pulling his shirt collar open, "This isn't amusing anymore."

The redhead had been gently tugged on the buttons lining down his shirt when he spoke. Once she saw where his attention really was though, her hands fisted the material and ripped it apart. Panic rose up in Roy's throat whether he tried to fight it or not. He swallowed it down a moment later, glaring at her before turning back towards the door. No matter what she did to him, it didn't matter as long as Riza wasn't harmed. He suppressed another shudder of revulsion when she spoke, "You always did like it rough."

She pulled his undershirt to shreds too, and Roy reacted by trying to throw her off the chair with a hard buck of his hips. Yet, Margie held on, a sinister giggle on the edge of her voice, "That's more like you, Roy. I love it when you fight me."

A smirk crossed his lips, "Release me then, and I'll fight you all you want."

The redhead smirked back, "I know exactly what you'd do too. It won't work on me. Go to hell."

"You first," Roy snapped back. Somewhere deep down in Margie's twisted mind liked his retort as she giggled again before stopping to kiss his neck and chest. He cringed again, ignoring her entirely as he couldn't let Riza and the door out of his sight. His heart pounded in his ears as he strained to hear anything besides the wet sucking sound from the redhead's lips. He couldn't let anything happen to her, but something was. He just knew it, and that knowledge made his stomach churn. Roy shook his head violently. She was fine. She was strong. Riza was his girl. She could handle anything thrown at her. He wouldn't panic, and he would save her just as soon as-.

A female scream sounded through the doorway, and Roy's heart jumped into his throat.

No, this wasn't happening. It couldn't be her. Riza never screamed.

The sound of a gunshot made him convulse as if they had hit him. This wasn't happening. More shots went deaf in his ears as he shook violently. The silence that followed from the other room was the loudest thing he'd ever head. This couldn't be happening. She, she couldn't be . . . Margie tried to kiss him again yet this time he didn't fight her off. She moaned into the kiss and he shuddered. No, he had to be wrong. She wasn't dead. The redhead giggled as she pulled away, "I guess my men didn't think she was that much fun."

"I hate you . . ." Roy whispered under his breath, his body trembling in a conflict of sorrow and fury. Margie ignored him, moaning in his ear instead as her hips ground into his. He sat there unmoved no matter how hard she tried to arouse him, as cold and numb as a block of ice. How? How could this have happened? But as he felt her hands on his chest, he knew exactly how it happened. If Riza was dead then he would killed the one to blame. Suddenly, he snapped, roaring in rage as his teeth sank into the neck of the woman on top of him. Blood flooded his mouth as she scream. No matter how much Margie tried to rip his hair out, Roy didn't let go. She would die too if it was the last thing he did, and he would be glad in it. Yet, when her fist punched into the side of his face, his world flashed black and his jaw went slack.

When his senses came back again, the only thing he felt was another slap in the face as the redhead lashed out at him again while standing over him, "Damn it, Roy! You almost could have killed me! A little too rough I think, darling!"

He snarled at her, face scrunched together in fury, "I hate you! I will kill you for what you've done with my last breath!"

She punched him in the stomach, making him double over and nearly retch from the force. When Margie pulled him up by the hair, he didn't resist except to stare at her in anger, "Come near me again and I will kill you."

"Hate me, love me, you're still mine. Your bitch is dead, and you were too fucking weak to do anything about it. The Great Flame Alchemist really is useless . . . You have nothing left but me now, so accept it," Margie said harshly before shoving his face away. He growled dangerously, not letting her words sink in. Riza wasn't dead. He wasn't useless. He wasn't weak. He just wasn't. Slowly, his head fell again. She wasn't gone. She . . . the silence from the other room continued. Maybe . . . she was dead.

Margie sat on his lap again, licking the blood away from his lips as he shuddered, "Let me love you, Roy. I'll help you forget about her."

His arms jerked in rage then stopped. He didn't want to forget about Riza, couldn't forget about her. After everything they had gone through, even after her death, he still loved her. His dark eyes squinted shut. This wasn't happening. Margie's hand and lips moved over him, but he had stopped noticing. Maybe she was right. At that moment, he didn't want to remember the scent of her blonde hair or the way she called him sir when she was annoyed with him. He didn't want to remember her hands on him, touching him. He didn't want to remember how she whispered his name. He didn't want to remember any of it any more how that she was gone, but he still could stop the images of memories flashing before his eyes.

Roy stared blankly as Margie, his mind not registering that her hand was done his pants and pulling his boxers open. Her hips moved into his, but he didn't so much as flinch in reaction. Undeterred, her teeth played with an earlobe, nibbling on the piece of skin before whispering into his ear, "That's more like it, Roy. Let me love you like I've loved all the men in my life."

He shuddered, but didn't turn away as she continued, "My father taught me about love, that you use your body to express how you love someone. He showed me when I was still little how much he loved his baby girl, but when I got older, he stopped loved me . . . so I killed him. No one seemed to mind that he no longer was around to love me, not even my mother, but I missed him. No one else loved me that way, except for you. You really loved me as much as I loved you. And I still love you . . ."

A green pallor spread across Roy's face between the myriad of cuts and bruises, sick to his stomach. Her hand rubbed his crotch and he felt even more like throwing up. And yet, it didn't matter did it? The only thing that mattered was Riza and she-. His eyes closed, trying to forget everything, as if he never existed. But when he opened them again, all he saw was the blood seeping down the redhead's neck from the bite he gave her. Everything that happened was all too real as his eyes fell to the ground, a soulless void of darkness swallowing him up. She was gone . . .

Her hips moved and she moaned in his ear, "Tell me you love me, Roy?"

He didn't hear Margie at all. The only thing his mind heard was Riza's voice, asking the same thing of him not too long ago. A tear spilled over and down Roy's cheek as he whispered to the air, ". . . I love you."

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 16, Fatal Attraction. 


	16. Fatal Attraction

Of Ballet and Bullets

Part 16 – Fatal Attraction

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy! Also, this is some very, very foul language in this chapter, but I suppose that should be the least of your worries.

Story Notes: I'm begging you, dear readers, for the enjoying of everyone else reading this fic eventually, don't spoil it by giving away the plot twists about to drop from here on out to the end of the climax (heh). Given the build up to this point, it would be a disservice to your fellow readers.

Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

* * *

This was not the situation she had hoped their night would end in. The two men looming over her snickered to themselves, as if they found it terribly funny for one of the women of the State Military to be capture so easily and bound helplessly to a rickety wooden chair. Perfect. The night could not be more perfect. The louder one of the pair leaned over into her face, giving the blonde a very unwanted view, and a whiff of a very dirty mouth, "Ever want to handle a shotgun over your boyfriend's squirt gun?"

Riza's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Those pick-up lines don't seem to work for you. Perhaps it's time you retired them, along with your toothbrush. That isn't working either."

"Why you-!"

He raised his hand to slap her only to have his friend hold him back by the wrist, "Hey, hey! No damaging the goods! There's better ways to teach her smart ass some lessons in manners than making her all ugly and shit. If we're gonna be fucking her for a while, I at least want to look at something more appealing than your ugly mug."

The man sniffed, scowling with narrowed eyes, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, jackass? Besides, crazy boss lady said to kill her anyway."

"What crazy boss lady won't know would get us both killed. I'm tired of being all nice and polite to that bitch with the money. Besides, she looked like loads of fun for a few hours on end. No use for us to put it to waste."

"Bullshit. That woman will kill us just like that douche Jenkins she wasted for one cock up. Let's just bang her, get our rocks off, and kill her like we're told."

"Like the good little whipped cock-suckers we are," He cursed in a sweet, sing-song tone before glaring at his friend. "Oh, yeah, where's all the fun in that? Damnit! I haven't had pussy in at least a month and she's fucking ripe, don't screw this for me just because that crazy bitch makes your balls retreat up your ass."

"Fucking hell, so what if she does make my balls retreat up my ass? At least I'll still have a virgin ass while she'll ram a gun up yours for not following her orders to a 'T'."

"Oh, shut the hell up."

"No, you shut the fuck up, little shit. This bitch ain't worth dying over, so can we fuck her and kill her already."

"No, not till we're straight on how we're gonna do this."

"Oh goddamn fucking ass shit motherfucker-."

Riza's brown eyes rolled upwards while repressing a sigh. And Margie had paid these dolts while trying to reign over them through sheer terror? She could have gotten more loyalty and service out of a pack of dogs with half the effort. Her foot tapped on the ground in distraction, slowly pulling the gun from the low back of her gown and repositioning it over the lock to the chain shackles. The pair argued over their treatment of her heatedly enough that neither of them noticed the Lieutenant glance over her shoulder towards the door she'd been pulled through. He had better be ok. How much longer was this going to take till they were stupid enough to drop their guns and attempt to rape her already? The sooner they were defenseless idiot, the sooner she blow off the chains, kill the two bastards, and blow the chains on her ankles tethering to the chair, and all the more sooner she could free Roy as well . . . and kill that crazy bitch. Well, maybe not kill her. Locking Margie away in a cell to rot for the rest of her miserable life sounded more appealing, after she clawed her eyes out of course. She never wanted to see another green-eyed woman for a long time.

The Lieutenant was nearly distracted by her own thoughts of vengeance when she noticed how the two men had stopped arguing to talk, softer, as if they were edging closer to an agreement. Well, that was quicker than she thought, but they still hadn't decided on anything yet. She stiffened, holding the gun ready for when they stopped talking and turned on her. Her heart sped up, adrenaline flowing through her blood in anticipation. This was her chance, but as confident as she was, she still knew anything could happen. Anything at all could happen once she fired that gun, even the worst. Her heart beat faster, brown eyes narrowing on the two men. She had to free herself, and the Colonel

And yet, as her senses heightened in the rush, Riza could barely hear a rumble through the walls. She blinked, and shook her head. It was nerves; that was it. She must have been hearing things. Yet, when the two goons started to look around the room as well, she knew the noise wasn't just her imagination.

The rumbled grew louder till it sounded like a plow being taken to stone, the hard crunch of earth being forcibly moved. Her eyes widened, whispering under her breath, "It couldn't be . . ."

"What the hell-?" one of the men cursed as the noise became all too clear, coming from the stone wall to her left. They pulled the guns from their shoulder, rifles aimed at the rock as it suddenly slid down. Riza's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar golden blond cowlick. "I told you this way is-," Edward's voice said over the rumble, stopping at the clicking of guns, "Oh shi-."

The Lieutenant's heart leapt into her throat. This was it.

She squeezed the trigger.

Riza screamed in pain. The recoil made her arms jolt, wrenching her shoulders as gunpowder burned her wrists. Metal shrapnel from the broken chain links tearing into her skin wasn't pleasant either. She panted with a hiss of troubled breath, trying to push the pain aside. This wasn't a time to be weak. The room seemed to move at once, the hole in the wall closing again, and quickly, as the two men opened fire onto it. The Lieutenant shook the now loose chains from her arms and brought the pistol up as she stood. Taking aim and bracing her arm with the other, she shot one of the two thugs, bullets tearing into his side as he dropped to the floor. His partner turned on her, rifle leveled to her head just when she took aim on him as well. "Drop it, you dumb bitch, or I'll shoot your head off," he growled, sweat pouring down his face.

"Go to hell," she murmured back, brown eyes narrowing down the sight of the gun.

He pulled back the hammer of the rifle with a click. At the sound, a spike shot out from the wall, sailing through the air and right through the gun's long barrel. Riza's hand tightened on the trigger, about to fire off a shot when the wall broke apart. Edward charged out though the opening towards the startled man. His fist jabbed right into the thug's jaw, knocking him aside and sprawling back onto the floor. The Lieutenant lowered the gun at the sight of the young alchemist, exhaling in relief, "FullMetal . . ."

Ed turned to her, grinning broadly, "Glad to see you too, Lieutenant. You looked like you needed so help."

She smiled slight, "Well, thank you for the timely rescue, but I could-."

"Behind you!" Winry's voice yelled from the opening in the wall, her hand pointing behind the blond boy. Edward ducked just in time to avoid a fist, scrambling to the side as the man he thought he had knocked down surged to his feet. "Come here, you measly runt!" he growled while trying to grapple the teenager.

"Who you calling so small he's the runt of a litter?!" FullMetal shouted as he almost dancing out of the way before straight towards his attacker. Fists and feet flew by so quickly now that the young alchemist was angry that Riza had a keeping up with the fight until a punch landed squarely on his right shoulder. The thug yelped in pain at the ding of metal, shaking his ruined hand while Ed smirked, "Oops?"

He punched back, hitting the man in the gut with a metal fist. Riza cringed as he fell flat on his back. Well, at least that was-.

She sighed as the thug staggered back up and charged on Edward who easily sidestepped the attack. When it seemed like the fight would be a while, she sat back down in the chair to wait. Winry stepped out of the opening in the middle of the brawl, watching while quickly sneaking around the perimeter of the room then up behind the Lieutenant. "Don't worry. Ed can handle him . . . I think," the mechanic explained as she lowered herself to her knees gracefully in the ruined formal gown, dropping a crude wrench to the side, "He's handled about ten other men so far that were chasing us after we got out of the cell they put us in. It's no big deal."

Riza blinked at the story, and even more so at the hairpin Winry pulled out, "What? How did you two even-?"

The girl pulled on the chains still around the Lieutenant's ankles, inserting the hairpin into the lock. In a matter of moments, it clicked open. Her eyebrows arched as her question was answered, "Oh, so that's how . . ."

She decided not to question the how's or why's anymore as Winry went to work on the second ankle chain. Just as that one opened as well, a resounding crack ended the fight as the man finally toppled over with a heavy thud on the floor. Both of the women looked up at the sound, finding the blond alchemist standing over the body with a grin of relief that quickly turned into a puzzled look, "What?"

Riza stood up and walked over to the man she had shot with a shake of her head. He groaned as soon as she nudged him, still alive. Ignoring the protests, she rolled him over, "Later. First, I need to save Roy then we're all getting out of there."

"Where is Colonel Bast-?"

"Ed, can't you be more sensitive at a time-?" Winry interrupted him before being interrupted herself as the blonde woman produced a rifle from under the man, unbolting it a moment to check the chamber before ramming it closed again, "Expecting more trouble?"

"He's being held by Margie just through that door," Riza answered with a nod of her head in indication before moving on. Searching the other man as well, she found a pair of handguns and a set of clips, holstering them on the garters around her thighs. Ed grumbled, kicking the man he had fought one more time. Both of the women looked at him, especially Winry as the wrench thumped against the palm of her hand threateningly, ". . . What are you doing?"

The boy shrugged, "He twitched."

Neither of them seemed to believe that. Riza sighed and slung the rifle over her shoulder, "There's more to it than just Margie extracting her revenge. She- . . . I don't have time to explain."

She moved quickly towards the closed door she had been pulled through earlier. The two teenagers followed closely behind her until she waved them off. "Stay back," the Lieutenant ordered, "I'll slip in alone. I'll shout if I need help"

"But-," Ed started to protest till a severe look shut him up again. One glance of her brown eyes towards Winry said enough as he backed down, moving in front of the young woman. "I hope you know what you're doing . . ." he muttered even as she smiled back.

"I'll be fine. Protecting Roy is my job after all," she said with a serene look that didn't quite reach her eyes. He could feel it creeping over him, a sense that something wasn't quite right. Peeking over his shoulder, the mechanic looked on curiously as she slowly opened the door, seemingly frozen before quietly slipping inside and closing it again. It didn't occur to Winry at all why the Lieutenant had ordered them behind until she felt the young alchemist's hands reach for hers. Something very wrong had happened that she didn't want them to see. She felt the young man standing in front of her stiffen then take a step forward towards the door. "Ed?" she whispered in his ear, "What is it?"

"Stay here," he mumbled as his grip on her fingers tightened, "You'll be safe."

"But-."

"I'll be back in a moment as soon as we free Colonel Bastard. Nothing will happen," he reassured her, but it didn't work, "Be safe, ok?"

"Ed? I don't scare easily, remember? If this is just another excuse to ditch me, I'll-," Winry gritted through her teeth, letting her temper take over until he wheeled on her. The quick hug he pulled her into silenced her growing disquiet. For the moment, everything felt right, even if he was leaving her alone. "Everything will be fine. Trust me," he whispered in her ear as she melted.

What choice did she have but to trust him? Edward let go of her and walked towards the door. After opening it a crack, he froze as well. Something was very wrong, yet, just as she shuffled forward to join him, he slipping out of the room and into the other. The door locked with a distinct click. Winry's hand shook on the wrench before she willed it to be still, "Everything will be fine. Everything . . . will be fine."

* * *

All Riza could see was red; all she wanted to see was red and nothing else. Maybe then the image before her would be wiped from her sight. She didn't want to see this happening, but couldn't help but look anyway. What choice did she have to do anything but look? It was the last thing she ever wanted to be, another woman on top of her Colonel and against his will. She heard the redhead moan and it felt like ice and fire poured together over her heart. Margie moved to kiss him, and Roy cringed painfully, turning away from her lips, "Leave me alone . . ."

Her hands grasped his hair, pulling on it roughly till he started to yell. The crazy redhead lunged in to kiss him even as he struggled in the chair. Riza's hands stay absolutely still on the stock of the rifle even as her knuckles turned bone-white. She would kill her, as sure as her aim was, she would kill her if it was the last thing she ever did. Margie pulled away with a giggle too sinister to be sweet and too crazy to be sane. Her body moved against Roy's, making the bile rise in the Lieutenant's throat. Even if she couldn't see what her hand was doing to him under the long green skirts, she could imagine too well. "What's the matter, Mustang?" the redhead asked, a pout on her full lips, "You used to like this?"

"Get off me . . ." he muttered under his breath.

"You used to like me, a lot. You're not even getting hard for me . . . I know you can get it up for me. You've never had that problem before. Don't you want to love me?" she whined, kissing his face and neck. Roy tried to push her way, but there was no fight in the effort. In return, Margie tugged his head to the side, her teeth biting his neck. He shouted, trying to get away from her now, "I never liked you! Haven't you done enough?! Just leave me alone!"

"No! She's dead now, and I won't let her take you!" she yelled back, her hand striking the side of his face repeatedly, "You're mine! Mine and no one else's!"

The barrel of the rifle nudged into the side of Margie's head then pulled back to rest a mere inch away, "Get off of him . . ."

Roy looked up in shock to see his Lieutenant standing over his assailant, her beautiful face contorted in most furious look he'd ever seen her give another person. His heart leapt into this throat at the sight of her. She was alive. Riza wasn't dead. How was this possible?! He was sure he heard her scream, and then the gunfire, and a body, how-?! He looked at her, almost sure that it wasn't really her but an avenging spirit or something. She couldn't be alive . . . could she? "Riza . . ." her name came from his voice in a choked whisper, sounding both reverent and curious, "You're alive?"

A small smile crossed Riza's face at the utterance of her name before turning back into a hardened stare at the redhead. Margie's head turned slowly, her vicious glare meeting the blonde's despite the rifle pointed between her eyes, "You're supposed to be dead . . ."

"So should you be for what you've done," she said while pulling back on the hammer with a click, "Don't make me repeat myself."

"You'll have to shoot me first."

"You have no idea how much I would like that. I could kill you on the spot and no one would think I didn't do the right thing," Riza hissed back as for a moment the barrel seemed to waver, "Get off him now."

"Never."

"Then I will make you get off of him," she threatening, prodding the barrel against her forehead. Margie shot forward at the threat, clinging to Roy as the Lieutenant tensed, "Come on. Kill me. He's still mine . . ."

Her trigger finger itched to do just that. All she had to do was shoot one bullet and their nightmare would be over. Margie would be dead for what she did, and would Riza ever be glad of it. One bullet would crack that beautiful face that sneered victoriously still at her like an overripe melon, and oh how she wanted to do it. Bloodlust was not a feeling that came to her often, but when it came to protecting her Colonel, what wouldn't she do? Even damning herself to save him wouldn't be price enough. "He never was yours, ever," the blonde growled back, her grip on the rifle tightening.

"Go ahead then! Kill me! I'll still win! My Roy would never want a cold-hearted murdering bitch!"

"Last warning, get off of him . . ." Riza ordered her, voice dripping with ice.

"Make me."

"Riza?" Roy whispered, looking up at her still in disbelief, as if he couldn't tell if anything unfolding before him was real or not.

An evil little smile flickered on the Lieutenant's face for barely a moment before turning back into cold fury. Suddenly, the rifle flipped in her hands and jabbed forward hard, the stock ramming into Margie's face. The redhead's grip on him broke. She went sprawling off of Mustang's lap from the force of the blow, landing on the ground with a heavy thud before rolling away. Blood gushed from what must have been a broken nose as she spat more onto the floor, "Bitch."

Riza slung the rifle back over her shoulder, "You did ask for it."

Still watching the redhead wearily, she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at the Colonel. He looked up at her still in shock, and still as if he was seeing a ghost and not her, "Roy, you alright?"

His mouth moved to answer, but no sound came out. For once he was at a loss for words. How had this happened? As much as he had thought he was delusional when he heard her voice, watching her beat Margie in the face with the rifle had proven she was indeed quite real. But it had sounded like she-. How could she be-? Why had-? "Roy?" she asked again, growing increasingly worried when he just looked at her, "Say something?"

"You're alive . . ." he whispered again, as if questioning her as much as stating a startling revelation, "How did . . . ?"

The blonde's face softened, giving him her full attention, "Ask me later, when we're out of-."

A scream cut off her statement before she could finish. Riza winced at the near-deafening noise, looking over at the source, Margie. She sat on the floor in the corner with her back against the wall, shaking as she wailed. For a moment, the Lieutenant considered slugging her if only to silence her from attracting the guards when she stopped, glaring daggers at the blonde, "Like hell I'll let you go anywhere with him! He's mine!"

A grim frown set on Riza's face as she took a step forward, "It's over, Margie. He never was yours to begin with. Get over it."

"Liar!" the redhead shouted as she clawed at the walls, staggering back to her feet. Tears and blood ran down her face, but she didn't bother to stop either except with a sniffle. "He . . . he loves me . . ." she said weakly, looking over to Roy, "Don't you?"

He didn't return the look back, only shifting in the chair uncomfortably under her eyes. Puzzled, Margie continued to stare at him, her voice strained in rising hysteria, "Don't you?!

Slowly the Colonel looked back up towards Riza, barely keeping the crawling feeling under his skin in check, "Get me out of here, then get her away from me."

"Sir," the blonde replied with a dutiful nod at the orders. Margie flinched at the answer, as if she'd just been struck across the face. He, he didn't want her near him. He was leaving without her and with another woman. This wasn't supposed to be happening. He was supposed to realized that it was all his fault, beg her to take him back, and be hers again. Roy was supposed to love her, not, not throw her away. She wanted his love, wanted him, but he didn't want her anymore. The realization that he didn't want her at all, made her flinch again as well as a sudden sob to her throat. The noise brought another, along with more tears. He really didn't love her. She screamed again through the crying, but this time neither the Colonel nor the Lieutenant paid any attention to her breakdown.

Margie collapsed to the floor again in the corner, rocking back and forth. No. No! She wouldn't let this happened! There had to be something she could do?! He was hers! She'd never let him be taken from her! He wouldn't leave her! Never! She looked up just as Riza turned slightly to reach for the chains on his wrists, her sorrow quickly turning back to anger. In the end, he would still be hers.

Unnoticed by the pair, the redhead reached for her ankle and the small pistol strapped there. There was no way she would let him leave her behind, never again. Drawing the gun out, she raised it up and aimed towards Roy.

The flash of metal got Riza's attention from where she stood beside him, quickly drawing one of the handguns holsters on her legs. Both guns clicked at the same time, but no one fired. Margie's aim had shifted from Roy to the Lieutenant, both women staring down one another without words till the blonde spoke first, "Put it down."

"You first."

"It's over, Margie! Put it down!" Roy yelled then tensed as the gun was pointed back at him.

"No, Roy, it'll never be over between us. I just love you too much to let you go," she said, sounding surprisingly sane and sober, "If I kill you, then she'll kill me, and you'll still be mine in heaven or hell."

"Don't do this . . ." Riza growled, unable to keep the tenseness of her voice down.

A blissful look of sublime adoration fell over the redhead's face, "If I kill him, will you kill me right away, Lieutenant? Promise me? I don't want to be without him for long . . ."

"He's not going anywhere, not before I get a chance to wring his neck for screwing up my night," a third voice said off to the side, followed by a clap.

Blue-white light sparked through the air just to the left of Roy's chair then the sound of rock moving. A long stone spike emerged from the wall, pointed directly at Margie and moving fast. The redhead tumbled to the side along the floor and quickly fired towards her third opponent. The spike stopped moving as Edward's transmutation was cut short when he ducked out of the way of the bullet. Riza's gun fired as well, missing when Margie ducked again. Both guns clicked at the same time, reloaded and aimed at one another. "This is between me and him," the redhead muttered, glaring at the other woman.

"No, this is between you and me. He is my Colonel, the one I serve and protect, and you've hurt him. I won't allow you to hurt him anymore," Riza growled back, her knuckles bone-white on the grip, "He isn't yours. You say he loves you, but you know it's a lie, don't you?"

Margie screamed in rage, "Don't say that, you fucking bitch! You don't deserve him! I do! He's mine! We're meant for each other! He doesn't love you! You're just his whore!"

The Lieutenant tensed, a grim set in her brown eyes as she said nothing. Roy tensed as well, watching the barrel of the redhead's gun waver as she sobbed, then exhaled slowly, "Put it down, Margie. You don't want to die here."

"You sure know how to pick'em, Colonel Flamer," the young alchemist grumbled from the floor, glancing up at his superior officer. Mustang's eyes rolled upwards, forgetting for one moment that the woman he loved was in a standoff with the woman he hated, "Shut up, Ed. You're not helping."

Margie sniffled, loudly, as her green eyes drifted between the Colonel and his Lieutenant, "I'm going to die anyway for what I've done. Even if the military lets me live, my company won't. I know that. It doesn't matter anymore. I am already dead . . ."

She looked back at Roy, her sight focused on him, "And if I'm dead already, you're coming with me . . ."

Her pistol moved through the air with a slow, hesitant jerk.

Riza's heart leapt in her throat. She was going to kill him anyway, knowing the Lieutenant would shoot her regardless. Edward's eyes widened. He sprung to his feet, barreling into the chair under Roy that broke the wood. Both guns fired at the same time with a loud bang followed by the sound of both men hitting the floor, the gunfire passing overhead. Margie was thrown back against the wall as the bullet shot into her chest. She still managed to stand and scream, aiming the gun again on the Colonel when another shot hit her arm. The gun fell from her hand. Blood splattered across the wall and the floor. The bullets didn't stop as she staggered forward, hitting her in the abdomen, chest, shoulder, and neck in a rain without end. She finally sank to the floor on her knees, blood drenching her green silk gown. Her eyes looked up at the blonde one last time then closed before another bullet punctured her forehead.

Margie's body fell over, dead. The bang of gunfire stopped as well, replaced instead by the soft metallic clicks of Riza's empty gun. Edward stared wide-eyed up at the Lieutenant as she attempted to shoot the corpse more, seething and struggling to keep pulling the trigger. He then looked over to Roy as he glanced at her as well, a look of profound sadness in his dark eyes. The gun clicked again, and the Colonel's attention turned towards him with a frown, rattling his chains, "Get me out of these, FullMetal."

"Gee, second time I've saved your rotten life in one night, and this is the thanks I get?" Ed groused as he got up to his knees, "See if I save you again from one of your homicidal ex-girlfriends."

"Edward . . ."

A short clap and small release of light, and the chains fell away from Roy's wrists, turning into a long metal rod. Quickly followed by another, another rod clanged on the floor, transmuted from the ankle chains. Free, the Colonel pushed up from the ground slowly, ". . . Thank you."

"You're welcome, bas-," Ed started to say before cutting himself off. It didn't seem appropriate or funny anymore. He watched the man stand up again, and muttered, ". . . You're welcome."

An unreadable look fell over the Colonel's face as he watched the Lieutenant still shooting an empty gun, "How much did you see?"

The teenager's gold and amber eyes drifted between the pair. He had seen everything since entering the room just behind Hawkeye. He had seen and heard too much, more than he ever wanted to see and know of what happened to Roy Mustang. A shudder passed through him in recollection. How could-? What kind of woman would-? The shudder turned into a sickness that made he stomach turn into knots. It could have been worse though, couldn't it? At least he was still alive, but that thought didn't make the retching feeling clamming up Edward's throat go away. What could he say? What could he do for a man he didn't understand when something so wrong was done to him? Ed stood up as well, brushing the dirt from his pants. He then looked across the room towards the door Winry was behind, walking towards it as he lied, "Nothing, I saw nothing."

". . . Thank you."

Ed stopped and grumbled, "Don't thank me, bastard . . ." he then nodded towards the Lieutenant, "Just take care of her? Before she goes crazy on you too?"

Roy snorted and moved across the room towards Riza. He watched from in front of the door as the Colonel put his hands over the gun, stopping the clicking, "That's enough . . ."

The blonde shook and lowered the weapon, each breath she took making her shudder. Slowly, she looked over towards Roy, as if noticing him standing beside her for the first time. Edward could see the tracks of tears on her face, but she didn't sob. Instead, the Lieutenant collapsed again Roy, her face buried in his ruined shirt and jacket as she sniffled, "You're safe . . ."

Mustang's arms hesitantly touched her shoulders then circled his arms around her body before pulling her tightly against him, "You're alive . . ."

Edward frowned, and unlocked the door. He had seen more than enough, and they needed some privacy. Well, he wanted some privacy too with the blonde mechanic waiting for him. Winry, damn, she was probably going out of her mind as well, with all the sound of guns and screaming. In fact, she should have been pounding on the door for him to open it, but she hadn't, which worried him even more. He opened the metal door and slid inside the room, closing it behind him. She sat on the floor, curling up with her face buried in her violet silk skirt and his black tuxedo around her. The tips of her fingers showed out of the cuffs and not much else of her hands, yet the knuckles he could see were clenched and white. She didn't even look up at the sound of the door.

"Winry?"

At the sound of her name from his lips, the mechanic looked up. Her blue eyes stayed on him, dried tears rimming her eyelids, yet they weren't focused, as if she was seeing right through him. When her eyes did focus though, there was a glint of anger in their depths. Winry uncurled to pick up the ugly wrench at her feet, knuckles clenched over the handle. That wasn't good. Edward blinked, mildly confused, "You . . . ok?"

The blonde mechanic sprung to her feet, stomping the floor till she stood right in front of him. If it were possible for him to feel any smaller than he was already under her glare, he felt it. ". . . Do I look ok to you?" she asked tersely, wrench arm shaking.

Ed couldn't bring himself to look at her, slowly lowering his head, "I'm sorry . . ."

The wrench dropped from her hand with a clang then both fists rose up to pound uselessly against his chest and shoulders, "Sorry? Sorry?! That's the best you can say to me!? After you left me behind to screaming and gunshots?! Do you have any idea?! Any idea at all, you stupid-! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You could have been killed! I almost thought you were killed! And I was worried about you, you idiot! I was so worried that I could kill you right now for making me worry! You moron! And all you can say is you're sorry?! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

No matter how much she pounded on him, Edward didn't move a step, only swaying under the force. He didn't say anything either as her ranting stopped, turning into a heavy pant as her hands slowed down. The alchemist reached for Winry only to have her shrug out of his grasp and back away sluggishly, keeping him at arm's length, "Don't . . . I really hate you right now."

But since when did Ed do anything as he was told?

He grabbed the blonde's hands as they rested on his chest and pulled her close to him. This time she didn't fight him off as his arms hugged her tightly. The mechanic's fist thumped against his chest one last time before pressing her face into his ruined shirt collar, "I really do hate you . . ."

A small grin she couldn't see passed across Ed's face for barely a moment, "I know . . . and I'm still sorry . . ."

"Is this how it is for you? All the time?"

" . . . No, but it is a job."

"Ed?"

"Huh?"

". . . Don't leave me behind again, promise? I . . . I don't want to have to worry about you like that again."

He cringed as his hand caressed the uneven loops of fair hair hanging in tangles at the back of her head. That wasn't the type of promise he could make her and hope to keep. There would be no telling what could happen in the future. Didn't he make that clear to her a while ago? Edward's eyebrow creased together in worry, "Winry . . ."

"I know, I know. Don't promise me then. Just tell me you won't leave me behind again? Lie to me a little and maybe it'll go away."

Her arms encircled his neck, pulling him closer till he could feel every breath she took. His arms dropped from her hair to her waist as his forehead rested on her shoulder, "I won't leave you behind again. We'll get out of here and go home, see Al, and forget this night ever happened, just . . . just a little while longer and it'll all be over."

"Thank you . . ." Winry trailed off then slowly looked up at him, still obviously worried, "Is Miss Hawkeye ok? And the Colonel? All the screaming, and guns, and stuff, and-."

"Fine," Edward said, cutting her off, "They're just fine."

The quickness with which he said those words gave way to the lie she thought she heard in them. Why would he lie to her unless they weren't fine? A cold shiver passed through her despite wearing his jacket, "Ed . . ."

A flicker of guilt passed his gold and amber eyes. Before she could ask again, Edward's arms tightening around her, as if just holding her would make her believe him any. She opened her mouth to say just that when he beat her to it, "They're alive, Winry, relatively unharmed, and together, that's good enough as can be. They just need to be alone for a little."

The mechanic exhaled, not about to pursue the matter, "Alright . . . as long as they're just fine . . ."

"They are."

"You won't tell me what happened in there, will you? With the guns?"

". . . The Lieutenant killed the woman holding the Colonel."

"That Margie woman?"

"Yes."

"So . . . it's over?" Winry asked tentatively. Edward snorted in a short burst of laughter at the upturn of her face, eyebrows arched in hopefulness. She frowned at his reaction as he dissolved into chuckles. He didn't even stop laughing as her when she smacked one of his hands off of her shoulders, turning away, "Oh, grow up already and be serious for once, pip-squeak."

Instead of his usual outburst for the 'short' insult, Ed pulled her back towards him suddenly. The mechanic yelped in surprise, yet became even more confused as his lips covered her. She should have fought him off. She had every right too for the night he had put her through. The kiss though became very persuasive in changing her mind for her. Winry let him kiss her, tongue and all, and let him hold her since he seemed to need it as much as she did, if only to know that everything was still right in their world. Edward pulled away eventually, his forehead pressed against hers as his breath blew over her warm cheeks, "Yeah, everything's over . . . practically."

With a sigh of relief, Winry let out the breath she had been holding, "Good . . . I think . . . Maybe you should kiss me again, just so I know we're not both still dreaming . . ."

* * *

For the longest while, neither of them said anything. Hearing Edward leave with the lock clicking closed behind him brought both of the officers back to reality. Roy pulled away instantly, slowly walking away to stand on the other side of the body between them. Not that she noticed. No, she felt much too numb to do much anything productive except to look at what she had done, that she had killed Margie, emptied almost an entire clip of bullets into the woman. While she knew it was justified, it didn't make her feel any better about killing someone. She may have threatened violence to keep their men in line, but pulling the trigger was a different matter against someone that desperate. Her hands still shook long after the Colonel had forced her to lower the gun. Her skin still crawled at the sight of the cold, bloody corpse too, green eyes staring soullessly up to the dull ceiling above. She was justified in killing her for what she did to Mustang . . . right?

The tears she had shed dried up as soon as she knew they were safe, that the redhead couldn't touch him anymore. It wasn't even over that woman that made her eyes run with tears, but what she had done to the man she supposedly loved. Riza shuddered, her hand gripping her forearm as she watching the blood slowly spread across the floor, staining the stones. She had saved Roy, it was her duty, and so she was justified in killing her. She was justified for saving the man she loved . . . right?

Slowly, the Lieutenant's brown eyes turned away from Margie's dead body to look upwards at Roy. For the first time she noticed how horrible he looked. His handsome face was marked with purplish bruises, dirt, and small cuts to his nose and mouth. Dried blood coated his mouth down to his throat, a ghoulish sight that she did not want to know the cause of. A mixture of fresh and dried blood matted down his dark hair on the side of his head. The Colonel's tuxedo and shirts were torn open, barely hanging on. Her eyes fell to his pants and instantly she turned away. They were still open. Roy must have finally noticed too as she heard him shuffling away from the body. She glanced over to see him trying to fix his ruined clothes, and it sunk in to her mind what had happened to him.

She hadn't been hallucinating after all. Margie had molested him.

Riza gasped softly, but loud enough that the sound immediately got Roy's attention. She watched the changing emotions in his eyes, shock, anger, shame, guilt, and then finally nothing. If he felt anything, it was numbed now and blocked, leaving the dark orbs of his eyes hollow. Mustang looked away from her for one moment then continued to meet her gaze again. He didn't have to say a word to convey what he was thinking in that moment. Roy was back to himself, his armor back in place, the Flame Alchemist once more, and from the way he looked at her, he was silently asking something of her. The blonde already knew what he wanted even if it made her throat constrict. At that moment, Colonel Mustang didn't want Riza Hawkeye, his lover, but First Lieutenant Hawkeye, his second-in-command and personal bodyguard. All business and no questions even if it killed a small part of her heart in that moment, the part that wanted to hold him and imagine none of this had ever happened.

She was a woman after all, but at that moment, she needed to be a soldier again.

Her fist tightened over the handle of her gun, then let go with exhausted sigh. She slipped the empty gun back in to one of the holsters on her thighs.

"We should get moving, quickly. There are still guards everywhere, and we do not know the way out," Riza looked up as she finished, seeing that Roy didn't seem to be paying attention. In fact, a spot on the wall seemed more interesting to him at that moment than her. Stepping lightly around the body, she couldn't stop herself from putting the back of her hand on his cheek, nudging away some of the dirt. No sooner than she had touched him had he snagged her wrist, his grip making her hiss in pain from the gunpowder burns and cuts. Roy flinched, pulling her hand away and letting go in one motion, "Don't . . . I'm fine."

Somehow she didn't quite believe that. The look in his dark eyes said enough as he backed away from her. He already knew what she wanted to ask, but wasn't about to let the words out of her mouth, "I'm fine, Lieutenant. I'm just glad you're . . ."

"I'm fine, sir," Riza chirped back as he trailed off. He wouldn't have finished that thought anyway if he could let himself allow it, "We should really get moving . . ."

Yet, she trailed off as well as she noticed that the Colonel was staring at her damaged wrists, "Really, I'm fine, Roy. We should be more worried over-."

"That's from blowing the chains off, isn't it? And it's the reason you screamed?"

She let out a soft breath, "Yes, the recoil wrenched my shoulder too, but I'm fine now. Honestly, sir, you shouldn't look in the mirror for a while."

Roy gave a short, bitter chuckled. The Lieutenant turned away from him a moment only to feel his hand on her shoulder, stopping her feet cold. He grabbed her hand before she could pull away, running his fingers over the powder burns and shrapnel cuts. Riza hissed in pain, yanking her wrist back on instinct as a tinge of blood colored his fingers, "I said I'm fine, Roy, or at least I was fine. Ow . . ."

Not saying anything, he lifted a section of her black chiffon skirt, tearing a piece off of the already-ruined gown. When he reached for her wrists again, the Lieutenant didn't pull away as he wound the cloth over her wounds then tied the ends off, "You're hands are too important right now to risk."

"You know how to fire a gun too, sir."

"But you are a better aim. We also need to find my gloves."

"We also need to gather the kids and any more weapons and ammo if you're planning what I think you are planning," Riza said as she looked up at him. They both nodded, silently agreeing on something that only they seemed to know. For a moment, a small version of his usual smirk graced his lips as he glanced darkly at the body in the room, "You shouldn't have wasted so many bullets on her, Lieutenant. She wasn't worth it."

The blonde's mouth set grimly, purposefully ignoring looking at him, "Respectfully, I disagree, sir. It was worth it."

Riza turned away as he finished with the bandages, moving across the room. Roy's eyes followed her as she started to search for more guns. For a moment, he wondered what she meant by being 'worth it', if she meant killing Margie or protecting him. He shook his head of that and every other thought over what had happened in that room. They were alive, for now, but not safe yet. When they were safe there would be time to think, to let it all affect him more than he let on. Much later, he could break down to her and be human, and not be a dog of the state.

Mustang turned back to the corpse, and held down a shudder of revulsion. Crouching down, he lifted the pistol from where the dead woman's had dropped it. It was a revolver style gun unlike the ones Riza favored. He flipped open the cylinder, dumping the shell casings into his hand. Roy cursed under his breath at seeing that all of the rounds were empty, tossing them onto the floor in disgust. Shaking his head, he stood back up while shoving the empty gun down the back of his pants and stopped, looking at Margie's blank face. How could he have been so . . . ?

He turned away, walking across the room to the door Edward had left through as Riza stood in front of it, "I'll handle them. Check the hallway. There should be another body out there. Maybe there's a guard station or something since this looks like a prison block."

She nodded grimly and moved along the wall, "I remember, sir."

"Be careful."

"Yes, sir."

"And Riza?"

The blonde stopped, turning to look at him, "Yes?"

"You're still wrong. She really wasn't that worth it. Ask me later, and I'll tell you why."

A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she nodded solemnly, "Sir."

Riza moved away to go about her business, leaving Roy to face the door and the two teenagers with probably a dozen questions. How was he ever going to explain to them what had gone down there that night? He should have left that part to his Lieutenant, diplomacy was more her thing. Working up the best serious, authoritative expression he could, Mustang pushed the door open then stopped, staring in shock. Roy then cleared his throat, loudly, "Do you two need another minute?"

In the middle of the room, Edward, who stood with is arms all over Miss Rockbell and who's mouth seem to be merely an inch from hers, nearly jumped to attention. He laughed nervously as his head slowly turned towards the source of intrusion, "Colonel . . . didn't expect to see you that quickly."

Roy smirked, eyeing both teenagers suspiciously. Since when had Edward been kissing girls? It looked like he was about to kiss her, if he hadn't walked in. Yet, now that he had seen that much, it made a lot of sense from how the young alchemist treated his mechanic. He could have kicked himself for not seeing it before. A good-natured grin sprung up on the Colonel's face, marred by a malevolent glint to his dark eyes, "What were you doing, FullMetal?"

"Nothing," Ed grumbled in denial. Winry stood beside him, clenching an ugly wrench while blushing a delicate pink shade. Roy's grin widened then dropped in an effort to keep it to himself. There always was something fun about turning the kid's screws. "That didn't look like just nothing. Wait! Let me guess, you were just checking her teeth? Right?" he surmised, thoughtfully tapping a finger on his chin, "No, that can't be right . . ."

Ed spluttered as the girl went from pink to red, "Nothing happened, you bastard, at least not with you around sticking your nose in, damnit!"

The Colonel grinned broadly as Edward cursed to himself under his breath. Damnit! He shouldn't have even opened his mouth. Every time he did for the past week, he got a taste of his own feet. He frowned and looked over apologetically at Winry, "Sorry."

"For what?" she asked, still blushing vividly.

"For getting us caught."

"Was going to happen eventually anyway," the blonde said before laughing softly to herself, "You never were too good at sneaking around."

"What's that supposed to mean, gear head?"

"Exactly what I meant to mean, alchemy geek," Winry said with a cheery smile.

Roy coughed, interrupting them as much as he was clearing his throat, "If you're both finished . . ."

The pair looked away from each other, seeming to be pointedly ignoring the presence of the other. Somehow those pet names had taken on a veiled meaning of affection that neither of the two seemed to consciously pick up on, but Roy got it alright. He frowned, and tried not to roll his eyes at the kids. This was why they shouldn't have been messing around in the first place. They were still much too young and immature to know what they were doing. "When we get home, I'm personally putting locks on your doors," Roy smirked, then turned away, "I can't let you do anything Mrs. Pinako Rockbell's granddaughter now can I?"

Both of the teenagers glared at him for a moment before looking at each significantly. The Colonel could try locking their doors all he wanted, not that it would stop them. "Come along, FullMetal," Roy called from the other room when they didn't follow, "We're not out of this yet."

Ed took Winry's hand as they both went through the door together then stopped as he felt the girl tug on his hand to stand absolutely still. He looked at the blonde confused a moment then followed her gaze to what made her pause. She had seen the body, staring at it, "That's . . . she's the one that caused all this?"

"Yeah . . . Her name was Marguerite, Margie, and she's dead."

"She was at the ballet tonight. I remember seeing her in that green dress . . . I was a bit jealous, because she was so beautiful . . ." Winry admitted, stepping along the wall when Edward pulled her with him, "Why did she do this? She was involved in some military thing?"

"It's a long story . . . I'll tell you later."

"No, you won't," the mechanic said with a frown, "It doesn't matter anyway. She's dead and we're going home."

"No, this time I will tell you, when we're safe. And this time I promise," Ed said with an encouraging smile, looking at her from over his shoulder, "Come on."

They walked through the second doorway, into a hallway, and found both of the officers fiddling with weapons. The first thing that caught Ed's eye was the pair of white gloves on the Colonel's hands, an elaborate alchemy circle in red printed on the back. He smirked, "Colonel Flamer once again."

"Shut up, Ed," Mustang groused, adjusting their fit as Riza loaded her rifle with more ammunition.

"I found them on Margie when I searched her," the Lieutenant said as she stopped and pull two round packages of bullets out from a new bag hanging across her body. She tossed them at Roy, who caught them easily, "For the revolver, found them on her too."

"Do I want to know where you found them?"

"No, but you will want to know that I raided the empty guard station to this block while you were away," an oddly happy smile graced the Lieutenant's face, "I found all my guns again."

"I'm happy for you both, truly," Ed said sarcastically before his foot slipped in something slick on the ground. As soon as he looked down at what he'd stepped in, he cursed, "Shit!"

Winry stared wide-eyed at the second corpse, "Who is that? Or who was that?"

Roy and Riza both looked at each other and answered together, "Jenkins."

Ed frowned at the two adults, "I'm tired, sore, cranky, hungry, miserable, and just a slight bit anxious to get the hell out of here. Can we get going now?"

The Colonel smirked, "FullMetal, language."

"Bite me."

Winry sighed, "Oh, can it, angry bean. You're not the only one that had a bad night."

"Who are you calling an angry bean that's so small-?!"

"Both of you save it for later," Roy said before turning back towards the empty hallway, "Lieutenant, take point. I'll be right behind you. FullMetal-."

"Rear guard, got it. Winry-."

"Smack anyone that get past you two, got it," she muttered, hefting the wrench over her shoulder, "If I don't feel like hitting either of you first."

Riza smiled to herself as she led the way. At least some things, no matter what happened, would never change.

* * *

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes frowned for what felt like the twenty-fourth time in the past half hour, "Jean, if you ask one more time, I swear I'll shove my foot up your-."

"Now, now, Hughes. He's only as anxious to find Mustang as we all are," Armstrong said, trying to sooth the Lieutenant Colonel's fraying nerves, "It is natural in this situation for us to be concerned about the welfare of our dear Colonel and his beloved First Lieutenant, the radiant Miss Hawkeye as well as the spirited FullMetal Alchemist and his sweet mechanic Miss Rockbell. Every time I think about what could have happened to them, I feel the pangs of sorrow know that at this very moment they could be helpless in the hand of their captors, or lying dead in the barren wastes of-."

"That's enough, Alex," Breda groused, "I think we get the point."

"And my point is that I feel like we've been going round in circles since we entered this building and no closer to finding the Colonel," Havoc grumbled from his post in the rear behind the Strongarm Alchemist, "We also haven't encountered a single guard since the first firefight. Where did they all go to?"

"For the amount of weapons storage we've walked past, you'd think there'd be an army down here," Heymans chimed in over Alexander's other shoulder, directly behind the tall alchemist, "Something isn't right. Where did they all go to?"

"They probably smelled your cologne, Breda."

"Oh, shut up, Jean. At least I picked up a woman tonight."

"Yeah, the crazy one that orchestrated this whole thing," Hughes grumbled, continuing the march onwards down the corridor. And these were supposed to be the military's finest. He rolled his eyes, "We could always split up . . ."

"I don't think that's too wise. I remember the story my great great grandfather Arthur Armstrong would say about how his unit split up on a mission to rescue another unit in the north, and-," he start to say before cutting himself off, "On the good side though, the story did inspire one of my sisters to follow in the prestigious Armstrong family tradition . . ."

Jean blinked, "You have more than one sister?"

"Certainly."

"Is she single?"

A frown formed on Alexander's face, almost hidden under his moustache except for the downward turn of his chin, "I don't think you're her type . . ."

"Too handsome for her?" he grinned cheekily, the cigarette in his mouth pointing upwards.

"No, too short."

The cigarette pointed downwards as Havoc frowned, grumbling to himself. Ignoring the banter, Maes pressed on, "We're not finding them any faster as one unit. Breda, Jean, next fork in the paths, you talk one way, and-."

The Lieutenant Colonel was cut off by what sounded like gunfire in the distance followed by a loud whooshing sound. All four of the men ducked on instinct and peered around for the source of the noise. Armstrong sniffed the air, "Smoke."

As soon as the word was out of his mouth, a loud claxon sounded over their head in warning followed by another whooshing noise except this time it sounded distinctly like water. One by one, the sprinklers overhead of them turned on with a deluge raining down on them. The four officers look at one another and said one word in unison, "Roy."

* * *

Riza glared from behind the exposed concrete pylon at Mustang, resisting the urge to turn the rifle she had pointed at the guards before them onto him. As if the deafening alarm wasn't bad enough, she could add being wet to her list of troubles. And it was all his fault! Instead of having vengeance on the Colonel, she wiped a hand over her face to clear away some of the water now raining down on them, "Was that really necessary, sir?"

"No, but it scared the shit out of them," Roy shot back, reloading the revolver he carried as he crouched behind the wall, "Even if I'm all wet."

"That's your fault. I told you not to, but no. Do you ever listen to me? No!" She yelled, firing another series of shots towards the mass of guards.

"I do to listen to you, but this isn't the time to discuss this!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"Would you two shut up and argue later?!" Edward yelled from behind them, huddled with Winry back down the corridor they had just come from as bullets whirled by them, "I blame you both and your idiocies for this mess, so just shut up and keep firing!"

"Some help you are, FullMetal! And you think you're better than me! I'd like to see you do something for once!" Roy yelled at him, reloading after firing the pistol.

"I do stuff all the time, you cocky bastard! I've save your life twice tonight! You're on your own for the third!"

"You ungrateful, little snot!"

"You got us into this mess in the first place! You lead us this way! You said left while I said right!"

"No! I said right, he said left, and you said nothing, Edward! And he did lead us here!" the Lieutenant yelled them both, reloading her rifle.

"Same difference!"

"You short, miserable brat! If I wasn't out of ammo, I'd shoot you too! Insubordination! The whole lot of you!"

"Roy!" Riza yelled at him, tossing another set of bullets his way. Mustang caught them, quickly reloading before ducking again as the gunfire got closer to their positions. More rifle shots followed from the Lieutenant, but none of them sounded like they connected to their intended targets. Edward groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Ed . . ." Winry said as she looked up at him, huddled under his arm as he tried to shield her from the water, "Do something?"

What could he do? Alchemy wasn't magic that he could summon on cue. After the amount he had used tonight already, he felt more than drained by it. Edward glanced to the side and into the ruined room thanks to Mustang's flame alchemy. There wasn't much left for him to work with but stone and concrete, "What can I do?"

He ducked again as a series of bullets hit the wall, pulling Winry closer to him. Even Riza crouched down finally as the rapidity of the gunfire increased. "I think this party just got more crowded!" she shouted at Roy, "Colonel?! Orders?!"

"Shit . . ." he cursed, nearly lying on his back as the bullets whittled away at his cover, "Edward! Do something!"

"I'm thinking, bastard!"

"Don't think, just do!"

"Shut up!"

"Ed! Think-!" Riza yelled before being cut off by another round of fire chipping away at the pylon, diving for the wet floor with a startled yelp.

"Riza!"

Damnit, he had to do something! Think, think, think, alchemy genius! Nothing stopped him from this type of action before . . . except the sight of Winry's large blue eyes gazing at him in both hope and fear, "Edward?"

He had to do something.

"Stay put," he told her as the gun fire died down. The mechanic didn't say anything except to watch as he quickly scrambled out from their cover and into the room. Bent over, he ran headlong over the chucks of stone and concrete, sliding through the water to a halt beside Lieutenant Hawkeye as she lay on her side in a puddle of it, the rifle propped up on more stone. The stock braced against her shoulder, she fired another round, shooting someone as they both heard a thud. "Any ideas?" she asked, looking down the sight of the gun.

"I'm working on it . . ." he muttered, looking around for an idea. A burst of gunfire chipped at the pylon overhead, the dust mixing with the water as it rained down on them. Riza groaned, feeling it seep into her skin, "Any more of this and we're going to be stuck here as statues."

Edward blinked, "Statues . . . Statues?"

"Yes, between the water, the stone dust and ash from Roy's little explosion, and the cement residue, it's making liquid concrete under us."

"You're a genius!" the young alchemist crowed, "Liquid concrete! No, I'm a genius! It'll work!"

The Lieutenant blinked at him as he laughed hysterically. For a moment, she thought he was broken. Roy glared at her while looking questioningly at the kid. All she could do was shrug. The Colonel growled, rolling over to fire another shot, "Stop laughing and do something, FullMetal."

Edward did something alright as the clap he made resounded throughout the room. Riza stopped shooting and shielded her eyes as the light became too bright to see in. The noise was too loud as well, forcing her to cover her ears in the crackle. In the middle of it all, the young alchemist knelt down, pressing his hands not onto the floor but into it. As the light died away, the floor rose up, moving in a small liquid wave of solid grey out from his fingers, "Would you both please move now unless you want to become permanent residents?"

Roy and Riza moved quickly alright, diving behind him and back into the corridor as the entire room seemed to shake. The wave grew upwards from Edward, the bullets passing right through it. Suddenly, it surged forward, rushing over broken stones and barricades, between cracks, and onto their attackers. He could hear the screaming and panic shouting of the guards, but the noise didn't break his concentration. He could do this. Move the concrete, oxidize the water into air to harden the concrete, and no one would get hurt. It was pure genius out of madness. He could heard the shouting still, as well as the crackle of rapid hardening, and then it was over, silence, and no bullets.

Ed looked up at what he had done, the panicked face of men looking at him yet they stayed as still as statues. Concrete covered them all from the mouths down, still alive, but not moving anywhere anytime soon. The three of them emerge from behind the wall, staring in shock as his handiwork. Wobbling slightly as he got up, Edward looked over his shoulder at them, water dripping all around him, "I'm so . . . smart . . . and tired too . . ."

His amber eyes rolled upwards into the back of his head. Winry rushed forward as he collapsed, grabbing him as he fell onto her with a heavy thud. Roy plodded through the water up to them as Riza stood behind him, "He picks wonderful times for naps."

The mechanic snorted a slight giggle, brushing away the golden hair plastered to his face, "He always did overdid thing."

Just as Roy opened his mouth to comment on that, another rumble shook the room. He frown, raising his pistol as he heard Riza's rifle as well, "Now what?"

The rumble grew stronger in vibration and closer to them, making panic rise in his throat, "Everyone down!"

They dropped to the ground as Winry threw herself on top of Edward. Rocks jutted out from to their left, as if the wall itself was peeling away in a roll. When the noise stopped, they finally looked up to see the gregarious face of Alexander Armstrong smiling at them and never had there been a more comforting sight. Peeking over his shoulders were three more familiar faces, a relieved Maes Hughes, a grumpy Jean Havoc, and a smirking Breda Heymans. They were saved. Colonel Roy Mustang sighed, rolling over onto his back as he let the water fall on his face without a care in the world, "Now you show up."

* * *

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 17, Cold Around the Heart. 


End file.
